Eien No Kessoku: Gouka
by IAmNotANut
Summary: The final battle has come. Humanity has reached its limit and stands at the edge of the world. They are bound by their mistakes, bound by their punishment, and bound with their lives. The path narrows as the road ends, but can they evolve from what they've become? When they jump, will they fly or will they fall? A story of Shinobi Nations and the trials of their people. To the end.
1. Cannibal Warfare

Eien No Kessoku: Gouka

I am so exited! I have the most wonderful tingling in my stomach. Nervousness, anticipation… Oo-hoo-hoo! This is the best part! But first I must address some serious things.

Don't let all of this padding put you off. Since this is the first chapter, I am unloading a little. It's lengthy, I know, but this is the only chapter that will have so much stuff before I actually start writing.

**If you already know who I am or have read Eien No Kessoku (known as EnoK from here on out) skip this next section.**

Hello all! Here I am, IAmNotANut. I've finally begun writing again. Man, I missed EnoK…

Rating: M. Once again there will be violence and disturbing imagery. Foul language is a possibility. Smut probably not, but I'm all for fluff! Terror, gore, sailor tongue, Yeah… whatnot.

Disclaimer – This disclaimer stands for the entire story. I do not claim ownership over Naruto while writing this fan fiction. I write for enjoyment and am not making any money in doing so. Also, I do not claim ownership over the songs and artists I mention in the following playlists. All of these things belong to their rightful publishers, companies, or owners.

(That was a mouthful)

**Summary of EnoK:**

Here's your specifics for the story and a little catch-up session if you haven't read it in a while or haven't read it at all!...

...

Konoha's government has been disbanded. Thecouncil has overthrown Tsunade and the village has been evacuated. Before the chaos ensued, Naruto and Sakura escaped to prevent the Kyuubi's imprisonment from corroding Naruto's body. They seek to appease the beast's rage by finding the Hachibi. In the process, they were separated. Sakura's fate is mingling in uncertainty. She has found Sasuke, but the gears around them are turning and the path they are following is taking the turn for the worst.

The Akatsuki are in no better condition. Only six of the nine remain. And within the group, sides are being chosen. But all are having the same nightmare. Even the council buried safely inside of Konoha tremble at its potential…

In their selfish pursuit of power, they awakened a monster that they can no longer control…

Uchiha Itachi.

…

**Playlist: **History (Funeral For A Friend), The Nobodies (Marilyn Manson), and Phase (Breaking Benjamin).

* * *

Even within the most beautifullandscape, in the trees, under the leaves the insects are eating each other; violence is a part of life.

_Francis Bacon_

* * *

…

Cannibal Warfare

…

* * *

In the early hours a thick line of people, within a thousand, were trudging through the forests. The air was dense in the morning's chill and the trees loomed over them like their own fears. The citizens of Konoha were exhausted, trailing behind the shinobi like ghosts. They had been walking for days, only stopping for sleep. The relatives of those left behind or those going off to fight huddled together like traumatized animals. But the children were not broken yet. Their light peaked around the corners of the adult's despair as they played and danced on the edges of the crowds. The children's ignorance was shielding them. Or so it seemed.

"I heard what happened from Ebizu." A voice in mid puberty cracked amongst the students. The ears of the older ones perked. Konohamaru muttered to a few of the boys. They were taking a short rest while the children played around them. "The old bags picked a fight with Tsunade-baachan. She wanted to go to war while everyone else wanted to hide in their beds."

Moegi spoke up from the side lines. She stood behind him, glancing at the adults walking past, eying them suspiciously. They could be listening. "What happened?"

"Yeah, why'd _we _have to leave?"

Konohamaru smacked the boy that uttered that and snapped, "We're goin' to war!" The boy stuck up his nose under Konohamaru's glare.

"I don't see why they kicked _us _out. The _Hokage's_ the idiot!"

Konohamaru whispered harshly. "_Everyone's_ gone to fight. Even the Sand nin are in on it. And they're fighting for our freedom. We _had _to leave. The old bags would have trapped us all there… Are you saying you _wanted _to hide? Would you rather be in Konoha wetting yourself?" The boy thought for a moment. He was surely imagining his father or brother leaving to fight. Then he shook his head. He was no coward.

Konohamaru gave a cut nod. The students muttered among themselves.

"We're at war…" The phrase spilled through their mouths.

"War!" The word fluttered about them.

Their parents and siblings and friends were all fighting for them in some far away country. A battlefield that none of them would ever see. Bravery, strength, hope… Pride filled them at the thought of fighting for freedom. It was their time. They were alive to hear about it instead of being told of wars long ago like they were bed-time stories.

"Even Naruto-niichan left. He's probably fighting right now!" Konohamaru stood and the children raced with him. They caught up to their families that had been steadily moving forward. The lone shinobi guarding nearby suddenly took interest. He walked over slowly as Konohamaru kept rambling. "Oh, boy, I wish I was there. I wish I could smack those Akatsuki around!" Cheers and whoops erupted excitedly.

"You'll do nothing of the sort!"

Konohamaru twitched at this voice and the younger kids around him scattered, disappearing into the crowds of people. The older ones stayed and awaited the man's words with agitation and insult on their faces. The man's face was sullen. His brown hair pulled back as tightly as his self-discipline. But, unseen by the children, a stray hair here and there was free of the uniformed look.

Iruka stepped closer, "Do you think you would stand a chance against the Akatsuki? Do you think you would help them?" Konohamaru huffed and turned his head. "What kind of help would you be? You are inexperienced in battle; you aren't even a Chuunin yet! Naruto and those fighting would be spending precious time protecting you as you gallivanted into a fight you never had a chance at winning."

"How would you know!?" The boy roared, "How would you know anything about fighting and war!? You've spent your entire life in a classroom!"

Iruka was still for a moment. He stared at the boys and girls gathered around him, all thinking the same thing. They waited for his response with smug looks on their faces. With a sigh, he gave them his answer: "When I was 10, maybe a little younger, we were at war with Rock Country. I stayed at home. I saw many of my friends leave and I watched only a handful return. I watched their faces become hollow, I watched them mourn over the loss of their parents." A few shivered. Surely their parents would be different. They would never die in war. "And when war came to us I saw the burning cities. But I never saw the people that had died. Wasn't there when the innocent were run down by murderers. I was far away where I couldn't help them. I saw a demon destroy our home but I go and fight for my injured friends. Sure, I spent my entire life in a classroom. But I still suffered under the shelter of our village. Can you imagine seeing your comrades die? But even worse, are you _willing_ to step into a massacre with no skills or knowledge and be protected with the lives of those comrades? Could you keep from hating yourself when they died at your expense?" He watched their faces lose color in an instant. Iruka stared at them, and then sighed. He sadly shook his head. "If it meant preventing one more loss, would you stay behind?"

The adults behind them tuned out Iruka's words. It hurt too much to recall it. The children had gaping mouths as the truth settled on their shoulders.

Iruka smiled timidly. "You would, wouldn't you?"

Konohamaru blanched at the thought of Naruto battling some unbeatable force with the weak Genin standing in the way, watching helplessly. Moegi and Udon looked at him for guidance. The boy was frozen.

"Yes." He responded. His eyes focused once more on his teacher. A conversation with Naruto struck him suddenly and a revelation tumbled out. "But that doesn't mean we just give up and wait." He spoke barely above a whisper. The adults, still walking, didn't pay him mind but the other students appeared from the legs of their parents and hovered closely so they might hear. "Naruto-niichan wouldn't want us to be afraid." His voice was elevated with aggravation. "He wouldn't want us to trudge on to safety and push all our hopes on them! He would want us to make our own happiness. He would want us to make our own strength so someday we won't have to be protected anymore." He panted for a moment. All around him were dumbstruck. "We have to fight in our own way for the day that no one will leave for war. For the day that the weak can protect the strong."

His teacher smiled. "I see…"

Another realization set in and Konohamaru gave a breathy laugh. He stared into Iruka's eyes as he stated simply, "Why else would someone spend their entire life in a classroom, right, Iruka-sensei?" The shinobi laughed.

The students took in the words with new respect for their teacher. Satisfied with the lighter mood, the students slowly dispersed and began running around once more. Their frolic was just as intense, but awareness lifted their voices and made them bolder. Konohamaru stuck close to Iruka. He didn't speak, but the shinobi's company was comfort enough. Konohamaru wasn't the only one they left behind.

On the other side of the group there was a small outcry and a swarm of Konoha's defenders leapt over the people. Iruka joined in and Konohamaru glanced at the younger students, commanding them to stay put. He too followed the wave of fighters.

Already pinned to the ground by two large Jounin was a very startled ninja. That surprise quickly turned to annoyance and he stopped struggling. The minute his headband was in sight, he was let up. The Sand nin had arrived.

The man stood and brushed off the dirt. "What a welcome."

Iruka gave an abashed laugh. "We weren't expecting you for a day or two."

"You walk fast." He jeered back. Kankurou of Suna placed a hand on his hip. He looked to the forest and back at Iruka. "If I tell them to come out, will you attack me again?"

Laughter spread through the tense shinobi. Kankurou rolled his eyes and waved his hand. In a flicker dozens of shinobi appeared. The children watched in awe as warriors only a few years older stepped out of the shadows. Immediately they greeted each other and some of the younger ones began playing together. Others walked among the civilians handing out bottled water and food.

"You're about to reach the desert and Gaara had a feeling you wouldn't have the proper provisions…" Kankurou inclined a nod to his working soldiers.

"We were in a hurry." Iruka sighed, "Thank you."

"You can thank us when we get to Suna safe and sound."

The mood immediately dropped. The shinobi around them dispersed once more to guard their parts of the moving troupe. "Is something wrong?"

The Sand Sibling shook his head. "No, we're just being cautious. Now that our armada is gone, Suna is a little more defenseless than I find comfortable. Iwa already tried to take over and attacked with a couple hundred." Kankurou paused dramatically, "But the desert-" He managed an ambiguous look. "-beat them before they could get here."

"What about Rain Country?"

"Your shinobi have already arrived. Gaara sent confirmation just before I left. Shikamaru, was it? He's heading the whole operation… Took over as soon as he got there." His voice came off with some resentment, but, in truth, it was more likely jealousy. "Gaara's surprise attack was fading fast and Rain was just about to retaliate when Konoha started pushing back the forces. We managed to create a barricade and have successfully cut off their resources. Last I heard they were thinning out the ranks."

Iruka gave a relieved sigh. "I'm amazed at how that boy turned out." Kankurou raised a brow. "He slept through class _every_ _year_. Taking charge was never high on his list of priorities."

The man grumbled, "I wish he was more like that _now_."

He looked up to the heavens and thanked whatever forces had influenced him. "That's the miracle of humanity: people change."

Kankurou grumbled, the antsy desire to join Gaara at the battlefront was getting a little too strong, "What about you. Were there any troubles along the way?"

"A couple of bumps here and there. But considering how many there are and how long we've been traveling, it's going along very well. Six days without shelter or decent food and we haven't had one riot." He paused and his eyes dimmed. "But I guess that's because those unfit for travel stayed behind."

"How many are here?"

"Almost seven hundred are here. There are five hundred still at Konoha. That includes the sick, injured, and elderly… Plus the dozen or so ANBU that stayed behind with the hospital staff. We didn't record the number sent to Rain accurately but we're estimating over three quarters of the populous escaped. That's the best we could do."

"What will those left behind do?" Iruka didn't answer but his expression explained clearly what fate awaited them. "Root hasn't followed you?"

"No. But we did have some problems with bandits." He looked around at the numerous shinobi, armed to kill. "Don't think they knew what they were getting themselves into." The soldiers laughed again.

Kankurou, however, looked uneasy. "I'm getting the same feeling. We took over Rain so quickly. Their real army hasn't shown itself yet and the Akatsuki aren't anywhere to be seen. I don't like it. We're playing in their hands… Dumb bandits."

"Dumb bandits…" Iruka murmured. "There are only a few dozen of us here, but these examiners have seen a lot of action. As soon as we get to Suna, we'll report to Rain with you and help your brother. If something goes wrong, you'll need all the help you can get."

* * *

Rubble and dust blew like a sandstorm into the eyes of Suna's forces. The echo of an explosion dulled their ears and sent shivers down their backs. The barricade was holding. The barricade was holding. The assailants bombarded the fortified defenses with explosive tags and smoke bombs, but the Suna shinobi were better. They waited patiently in the clouds of black for the Ame nin to sneak through.

One man stood, his body was aching in after shook, his breath labored out of fear, but he showed no sign of it. He waited, still. Slowly, his heart settled and he shut his eyes. The adrenalin pumped calmly through him and he could hear the footsteps of an enemy. They stalked past him. Gradually, in the midst of continuous smoke bombs, the Ame nin inched further and further through. At the edges of the group, Suna nin followed and closed in silently.

Suddenly the wind blew and a part of the cover was removed. The shinobi's eyes snapped open and he killed the soldier closest to him. The squad was taken by surprised and wiped out before a sound could be uttered. The skillful assassins then jumped back behind the barrier and waited for the next wave to attempt a breech.

Gaara stood back, his gourd of sand was tied to his back by a black cloth and dark paint was splattered over the subtly signs that once covered it. At closer inspection, one would recognize it as something more sinister, but no one dared to. Everyone was a killer. The Kazekage was no different.

"Gaara-sama, the far west end is being pushed back." An exhausted soldier cried.

The shinobi made eye contact with five others and they flew to aid their allies. When they arrived, a handful of dead rested peacefully in the opening the enemy had created. One of the five went to remove them and a rain of kunai shot out from the smoke. Quickly, he dodged and placed his back against the wall. The shinobi took in a deep breath and waited. In an unexpected brush of wind, the smoke clouding his vision dissipated and he whirled his head around to the opening. His eyes flashed and a second wave of kunai came through. They shot past his face, but they were seconds too late. The shinobi was already out of danger.

He went to the Kazekage's side. "I saw their formation. There's an opening from the left side. One explosion would disperse them." He glanced at his four companions. They immediately went to the other side of the hole and stood waiting. Gaara placed a hand to his face and, in the air, an eye condensed out of sand. It flew over the wall out of sight. The shinobi looked to the man beside him as he created a Bushin. It took up a weapon, then the clone and its creator ran to the wall, one to the left side and one through the hole. As soon as they opened fire, Gaara signaled the shinobi. Within seconds, an explosion shook the wall and all five vanished. Gaara released his eye and made a hand seal. He took in a deep breath and mumbled some words. Just as he released his chakra, all five returned unscathed.

The Kazekage dropped his hands and looked at them curiously. "What happened?"

"They ran off."

"Kazekage-sama!" Gaara searched for the voice. Down the wall, the shinobi were emerging from the other side. They looked to him in wonder.

One of the five with him ventured to the wall and peered over. "They're all retreating."

A young girl ran to Gaara from the east. She stopped at his side and caught her breath. "Konoha shinobi at the northern border are saying the attacks have stopped. Ame's defense is pulling back just inside the city limits."

Gaara's teeth clenched. His gut twisted. "Where are the Akatsuki…?" The warriors around him were silenced by the chill in his voice.

As the words were uttered, it started to rain.

* * *

The rain pecked at the old man's skin and the humidity made his white hair stick to his face. The intricate mess of piping and buildings in Ame were converging just ahead. He looked up across a large opening in the cluttered buildings. Their dull colors closely resembled a stormy sky and the tall towers around him almost faded into the cumulous clouds. An awning jutted out from the tallest of these towers. There three Akatsuki robes had gathered. They stood at the opening of a large tower and below them on an empty street were a few hundred soldiers. They stood silently, waiting for orders. They were all clothed for war. Jiraiya was baffled. Rain had been under siege for a week and these people didn't have any signs of being in battle.

Jiraiya stared intently at the three Akatsuki. Two backs were to him, the third face was covered by an orange mask. He slipped back into the shadow of the building and moved around the pipes and frames. Finally the opening came into view again and he could see the other two.

It was a woman and man. The man's hair was bright orange while the woman's blue hair rose and fell with the breeze. In her hair was a single, paper flower folded to perfection. Immediate recognition sent Jiraiya's stomach plummeting downward. He had known both of them long ago, but in his memories they were only children, lost after war had destroyed their homes and families. They had been his students when no one else would take them in.

Konan and Yahiko.

In the faint echo of the close space Jiraiya could hear them speaking.

"It seems that our goals no longer coincide, Tobi." Yahiko noted. His stoic face was covered in piercings.

Tobi laughed quietly. "No, they don't. But don't worry, we will be departing shortly." The man turned to leave.

"These shinobi won't follow you."

"You are mistaken." Tobi stared down at the army. "It seems that we share certain interests. They are no longer infatuated with your aim for world domination."

Konan broke in, "They will not abandon Ame in its time of need."

"Oh, yes. Yes they will." Tobi's exposed eye turned on him, "Yes… For revenge, a person will abandon everything." He sighed and looked down again. "These people have an old grudge on Konoha, you see. It is amazing how revenge can create hope from hatred." His eyes remained on his pawns below. Tobi's voice was pleasant, "Well, you have served your purpose, Pain. I'm sure this is the last I'll see of you."

He didn't wait for a response before stepping off the ledge of the tower and dropping into the opening. Tobi's black robe flew behind him as his feet skidded against the piping and concrete. Pain watched him land unharmed and clenched his fist.

"Zetsu."

From the shadows of the tower a fourth Akatsuki stepped out. "Yes, Pain."

"Where is the Kyuubi." His strange eyes watched Tobi approach the Ame elites.

Zetsu deliberated. Pain was already in a foul mood. He didn't want to be on the receiving end of that when his leader finally cracked. Zetsu's dark side spoke in his place, "_It vanished after Deidara died._" Zetsu's white side sighed. No reason to hold out now. He internally cursed his other half. "We lost sight of it…_ And Itachi._"

"Find it. Find it at all costs. Report to me if Itachi interferes." Zetsu started to leave, but Pain stopped him. "Bring Kisame here."

The green abomination bowed and vanished. Seconds later, Kisame landed before the pair.

"What is it?" His pointed teeth were exposed in a grin the moment he saw Pain's flustered state.

"Tobi has betrayed us."

Something flickered across Kisame's face. It wasn't surprise. "Hmm… Has he left yet?"

"No." The leader stared at Kisame. "I need you to complete a mission for me." Kisame waited with disinterest. "Tobi is going to jeopardize our goal. He is a threat to everything we Akatsuki want and he must be exterminated. I will trust only you with this task. Eliminate Tobi."

The blue shinobi inhaled and scratched his head. "Huh, that's why you called me?" He scuffed his foot on the ground. A demonic smile split his face in two. "Sorry, Pain. No can do."

"What."

"I'm siding with Tobi on this one." Kisame watched rage furrow his former leader's brow. "Are you going to stop me? Deidara's dead and Itachi has disappeared… Sure, you've got Zetsu, but he's useless in battle." His shoulders shook with a chuckle. "Not to mention that you've got a village to look after. You've got nothing keeping me here and I promise that I'm not dying for a lost cause. The Akatsuki are finished," He kept a careful eye on Pain as he stepped closer to the edge, just as Tobi had. "So I'm betting on a winning hand." He fell.

Pain watched another fell further into betrayal, into heresy. They vanished into the shadows of the buildings. A feeling rose in Pain's throat. It was the feeling a God received when hope in his creations faded. It was the hate and rage that could destroy worlds. And he would. He would destroy worlds. He would destroy every path that greed and retribution had put these traitors on. He would destroy it before they could be satisfied, so they would feel the crippling defeat that they deserved. They could share his pain.

"Evacuate the city."

"To where? Our allies have already refused."Konan's passive face was startled.

Pain was quiet, weighing his options. Then his laugh rocked the piping, "It doesn't matter. They'll be dead soon anyway."

Konan's eyes burned, then settled once more. "Are we going to fight?"

"Yes," Pain gave her a condemning smile. "I am going to kill them all…"

…

The shinobi were dressed in dark colors. Their masks were up and their headbands were no were to be seen. Killing intent radiated from them along with the contrasting air of fear. At the front of the massive gathering Tobi stood.

Kisame stretched calmly. "He asked me to kill you."

Tobi laughed darkly. "Isn't that ironic… Of all the people to ask, it had to be my most loyal follower."

"Hmph, you can laugh. He wasn't too happy when I said no. And I'm not losing my head because of your games, Madara."

"As soon as we leave, Itachi will be your only assignment."

Kisame chimed in darkly, "Are you trying to comfort me? Itachi is more dangerous than any force Konoha could put up now."

Tobi glared at him. "You've delayed long enough." Tobi could read him like a book. Kisame tugged at his Akatsuki cloak uncomfortably. "You don't need that anymore."

"I still think I'll keep it." Kisame adjusted the collar, "I've made a lot of good memories in this thing. Call it sentimental, but it's a good coat."

Tobi passed over the man's strange attitude and focused on the matter at hand. "We're leaving soon." Tobi twined his fingers into a seal.

Kisame was shocked, "Are you gonna transport all of them to Konoha?"

"Did you expect we would just walk out of Rain with all of these pests in the way?" Tobi's chakra spiked.

The shinobi shrugged. "It's your funeral. I know you can't take over 600 in one go. Not that far."

"Getting out of Ame is all I'm concerned about. I can manage transporting this many five miles away at most. We will slip just under the radar."

Kisame eyed him curiously "You're playing this a little close, don't you thing?"Then abrupt disappointment hit the blue man, "Are you saying we have to walk the rest of the way? Damn, I hate walking."

The chakra swelling from Tobi covered the clearing like a deadly shadow. The shinobi looked around worriedly. In the hole of Tobi's mask the Sharingan was spinning wildly. Slowly the ink transformed the red iris and solidified.

"It is time."

Then in the blink of an eye, the clearing was empty. The rain paused in mid air for a millisecond, and then it hit the ground with a stronger noise than before. It was as if there had never been a soul on the vast concrete.

Above the terrifying spectacle, Jiraiya's jaw hung open and he breathed in and out weakly. He had never heard of such a jutsu. It was impossible. Jiraiya staggered out of sight and placed a damp palm to his forehead. Such things could be done through summoning scrolls and special weaponry like the 4th's jutsu, but with just one seal? He had to tell Tsunade.

The man's hands flew to a scroll on his back. He bit his thumb and placed it on the black scribbles. It released and, in a puff of white, a small frog leapt out. Jiraiya's voice caught in his throat as he tried to address the messenger frog. He sputtered out what he had seen. What could he do? Yahiko and Konan had been his students. They were his responsibility and it was his fault they had become this way. He had to take care of them himself. Although surveying the area, gathering all the insight he could, and waiting patiently for news of Naruto had been his objectives, this new development could not be overlooked. He had to help secure Rain so they could return to Konoha and save the village. The villagers were all at home, defenseless. They had no way of knowing what evil was in store for them. Yahiko had to be defeated. His students had to be stopped. Quickly, Jiraiya whispered sad goodbyes for the frog to give a certain woman waiting in Konoha.

…

Pain's eyes bulged. Without Tobi and Kisame's massive chakra to distract him, he noticed a very strong shinobi hiding not far off through the rain. A laugh escaped him and he turned to the buildings across the way. An old familiar chakra greeted him. It had been a while since Pain practiced with his teacher and he was itching to kill a sinner.

* * *

Sakura strode down an unfamiliar road surrounded by strange faces. Her hair was effectively covered by the large hood hanging over her head. The striking transition back from inky black made her overly conscious of its natural hue. Yet, it had also changed since she had last seen color on her head. The intensity of it was weakened and become a pale pink. From a distance it was practically white. It was impossible to not turn your head at the sight.

But she managed to pass through town unnoticed. She had been longing for a break for weeks, but because of Naruto's problems with the Kyuubi, as well as her own brand of agony thanks to the demon, she couldn't keep from worrying. On top of that, the council's rash actions that pushed Naruto to leave the village had created a whole new layer of stress. It was time to breathe easy.

This town was quaint. The many curving roads fit into the mountains side deep inside Fire Country. She paused in front of a small house. There stood a woman with bleach blond hair. Her back was turned and, as she hummed an unnamable tune to herself, she organized her herbal shop. The woman's figure was voluptuous like someone she knew well in Konoha.

The woman turned. The face that greeted her was not the same as Sakura had hoped. Sakura's staring didn't stop and made the lady speak.

"Can I help you?" Her voice was scraggly, like she had indulged in too much smoke or drink over the years. Her face was warm, like she had known Sakura all her life. Her hair hung at her shoulders, free of elastic bands. She had on comfortable apparel that clearly wasn't fit for anything more than ordinary tasks. Her sandals flopped loosely on her foot. If she were to try running, they were sure to fly off.

When Sakura's silence lengthened, the woman tried again. "Are you lost?"

Sakura snapped back to life and stuttered, "I need a place to stay."

The woman smiled at Sakura's shyness and coaxed her over with her hand. "I know a good bed and breakfast nearby. My friend owns it, real nice lady. You can stay as long as you like and her cooking is the best around." The woman produced a pencil and paper, she began writing on it. "I'll give you directions, you hear? It's not a long from here and it's pretty cheap." She finished her scribbling and held out the paper. Sakura hurriedly accepted it.

"Thank you very much."

The lady gave another gentle smile, brushing off the formality, "No problem," and returned to work.

Sakura turned and started walking, quickly reading the instructions. She passed dozens of small homes tucked into the shelter of trees and friendly faces greeted her. It was so strange.

They were polite. They were simple. They didn't care where she was from, they had no idea. They didn't ask her what she wanted. For a while, this puzzled her.

_What's missing? Why is it so peaceful?_

She strolled along the road, deep in thought, and slowly came to a stop at a ridge. Below the rolling hills, in the little valley, the village was settled. Sakura had never seen it before. She searched with her keen eyes for movement, as her village often had. She looked for people flying through the trees, children throwing kunai, or students practicing jutsu. But there was no movement. Only serene silence.

There were no shinobi.

She laughed at the thought. But there was not a hint of violence in their lifestyles. There wasn't a feeling of deception in that woman's voice. She didn't have a tingling superstition about the place. But it wasn't empty. There were people. They were all potential killers, just like _all_ humans. But it was so different.

It was uncomfortable. She felt like everything was fragile. She might break this tiny, unknown world of peace. She could become a pebble in their calm, wrinkleless reality. It terrified her.

Tension gathered in her back. It tugged at her senses. It gathered in her stomach and she sunk to the ground. It made her sick to think about it. A world without shinobi. A world without reasons to kill each other. Why didn't she have that? Why wasn't her world like that? Would Sasuke have left? Would the council have turned on Naruto? Why couldn't she live in that world?

_Is this what it's like? To not have war or violence? To not breed power and raise soldiers?_

Her legs began shaking under her and she began hyperventilating. Her breath came in and out in small cries. Minutes felt like hours as the pain slowly spread. Suddenly, amidst the pain, she realized what the cries were. A whimper is an unspoken desire. She tried to say it aloud but the whimper only grew louder, choked at the last moment in the back of her throat. Embarrassment and fear kept her from saying it. It kept the pain inside and turned it into tears.

_"I hate being a shinobi."_

She choked.

_"I don't want to be afraid."_

Her weeping cracked in her throat. She was too distracted with the desire to speak clearly to notice that the tears had stopped coming.

_"Why can't it be mine?"_

She grasped her sides. The knots of energy were sluggishly scrapping against her nerves. they sent pulses of heat over her.

_"I want that world."_

She curled into a ball on the grass and let the cool wind blow across her slightly moistened cheek. The tears were already drying. Her eyes were open, staring into nothingness. Her mouth shut and she sat in silence.

_"I want that world."_

_Yes, but that's not what I have._

She took in a deep, cleansing breath and the heat subsided. Sakura released her legs and stood. The little paper in her hand gave her a reason to step forward. With a hand over her chest, gripping the skin over her heart, Sakura took in gulps of air and stared at the sky. The foggy atmosphere thickened and Sakura noticed the misty rain falling. The drops could barely be seen on her clothing, but it was raining. The wind blew it into her face and stung her eyes.

She had to move forward. If she wanted to change the way things were, she had move first. There's always a first step.

…

Sakura's eyes flickered from the note to the name on the entrance. This was the house. The kunoichi smiled at its simplicity and coziness and knocked on the door.

A small woman swung the door wide. Sakura flinched back at her openness. The woman didn't bother to check and see if it was a murderer or an assassin waiting on her porch. Instead she immediately pulled away the screen door and allowed Sakura to enter.

"Tsu-chan told me you were coming."

Sakura's breath caught. "Tsu-chan?"

"Yes, Tsubame. The woman at the herbal shop?" She looked at Sakura's frozen face and gasped, "Did I get it wrong? She said you had pink hair…" Her fuzzy eyes saw the hood and mistook it for her hair color. "I'm so sorry I dragged you inside! I thought that—"

"No! You're right." Sakura quickly removed the hood, flustered because the other woman had noticed.

The old lady saw the strange color and her stature eased. "I was so worried. I have a habit of getting ahead of myself. There are so many customers lately. Tsu-chan has a way of spreading news about me… You're the third person today to ask for a room."

Sakura looked around for the first time. The living room was decorated with the optimistic colors of spring. There was a large couch in the center and stacks of books on every surface. The light protruded through large windows, but they couldn't feel the cold. There was a fireplace in the corner that sent waves of comfort throughout the room. Everything was in plain sight. Through those open windows anyone could break in. A shiver in her shoulders told her someone was out there.

The woman continued to talk as she led Sakura up a stairwell to where she would be staying. The hall was bright. More windows. She peeked into every room, the paranoia bred into her being couldn't help but check. Thanks to this, the kunoichi caught a glimpse of her temporary neighbors. The room was occupied by a young woman. She was short and dainty. Fragile, much like the town. Suddenly Sakura blushed when a taller man stepped behind her and wrapped his arms around the woman's tiny waist. He was well built. He would have been an excellent soldier had he lived in Konoha.

The woman stopped what she was doing and looked up. They both stared out of the large window, cuddling contently. They looked so perfect as they stared out at the beautiful wilderness. Sakura bumped into the woman infront of her, effectively distracted by the adorable scene, as she stopped before a blue door. The paint was pealing, but it gave it a well-loved appearance.

"This is it."

Sakura stepped inside. There was an old chair in the back covered with a thick crocheted blanket. There was a small desk and chest of drawers of matching colors, deep auburn, and a hollowed out spot on the wall that held wooden hangers. A small white door in the corner lead into the bathroom, she assumed. But, in the center of the room, the focal point of this fairytale tranquility was the double bed in the center. It had to have three mattresses under the small white comforter. She looked closer at the cloth and noticed the intricate navy flowers that didn't draw the eye at first. It was a beautiful bed…

But there was only one.

"I-I'm sorry." The woman smiled curiously at Sakura. "I have a friend staying with me."

Sakura felt a wave of guilt wash over her when the woman's expression dropped. "I had no idea. A family has already reserved the room with two beds." She placed a hand to her mouth, nibbling on her knuckles with her lips. "They asked me for it weeks ago…" The woman stood quietly, musing what to do.

When she looked up, her face was apologetic. Sakura's defense mode kicked in. They needed a place to stay. "It's alright. We can share, I'm sure." It looked like she would be forced out of a bed once again by a boy.

Her lie comforted the woman and her shoulders dropped in a sigh. "I'm so sorry for the inconvenience."

"No! Not at all. Thank you for taking us on such short notice."

The little woman wouldn't waste time and scurried to the stairs. "Dinner will be ready at 7PM, I won't disturb you until then. If you need something I'll be right in the kitchen." She started down the stairs with a new hop in her step, then she jerked her head up with a little gasp, "I'm Shizuka, by the way."

Sakura laughed breathlessly, "Thank you, Shizuka-san."

The woman finally left and Sakura retreated to her room.

She looked around at the furniture and her eyes were gradually drawn to the world outside. It was so peaceful in the mountains. No wonder Shizuka had so many customers.

_"I don't want to leave…"_

Sakura ran her fingers across the sill. The wood was unstable, the house creaked, but it was a home. The sound, defensive houses and apartments in Konoha were always prepared for war. This house wouldn't stand a chance against an attack. But…

This frailty made it more precious. This was a _home_.

She fell backwards onto the bed and shut her eyes. A chill passed through the room. She was very far from the fireplace. Sakura shuffled onto the tall mattresses and wrapped herself in a blanket matching the one over the chair. She leaned against the headboard and started to doze. Even in this simple house, she felt more secure than in Konoha. There were no shinobi looking for her here. No one knew who she was. Or what she was.

She nodded off into a dreamless awareness. Her eyes drifted across the room and her ears caught everything. The place was so empty. The shelves in her room had simple, bound books. No scrolls. No weapons. She could hear the creaking of feet and the muted talk between the couple. The manner of it was like honey on her tongue. No one had ever addressed in such a way. It was soothing and somewhat bittersweet. Nothing was that calm in Konoha.

Finally sleep settled on her and her eyes shut. The jitters that constantly plagued her danger filled life were silencing themselves. Her ears were the last to rest and as they lost their attentiveness she heard was a tap at the window. It was as if cold water had poured down her back. Her eyes snapped open.

There was a shadow staring at her through the glass.

* * *

Well, there's that. My first chapter. I know it doesn't spend much time with our favorite characters, but I assure you that everything in here is incredibly important in the long run. Did you all think I spent my lengthy break just twiddling my thumbs? I've condensed a very complex plot into fewer than twenty chapters to avoid pointless babble. Everything you read has meaning and will have an effect on the future. If you aren't paying attention, you'll lose your way!

Thank you for sticking with me in this first chapter of EnoK. I look forward to your comments and criticisms, so please review!

Next Chapter – Horripilation

…

Fear is a tyrant and a despot, more terrible than the rack, more potent than the snake.

_Edgar Wallace_


	2. Horripilation

I just finished the manga of Fruits Basket… I cried so much! It's really ridiculous. If you want an accurate description of me imagine an energetic, emotional, optimistic cry-baby. That pegs me perfectly (if you don't include all of the bad qualities – those are infinite, by the way). I cry in every movie I go to… No joke. Name one and I can tell you that either I haven't seen it, or I cried for at least ten minutes about it.

Playlist: Blue and Yellow (The Used), And It Rained All Night (Thom Yorke), Pretty Handsome Awkward (The Used), and Walking on Air (Kerli).

* * *

Fear is a tyrant and a despot, more terrible than the rack, more potent than the snake.

Edgar Wallace

* * *

…

Horripilation

…

* * *

Kakashi's brow was lined with beads of sweat as he and his squad sped after a fading trail. Pakkun had found them moments ago where the scent of Sakura and Naruto was faint but, with the markings he left behind, it was easy enough to follow. All that mattered now was speed.

Pakkun didn't have time to tell them specific details, but a strange feeling in Kakashi said that as soon as Naruto got momentum, stopping the world from falling apart would be impossible. The team behind him understood his urgency and kept up without a moment's hesitation. Resting could come later when Sakura and Naruto were safe with them.

The afternoon sun was covered by gathering clouds. The fog from that morning was lingering and the fear of rain hung in the air. Kakashi's fists clenched. _We can't lose them now…_ He inspected the shinobi around him. Pakkun was far ahead, ready to follow whatever twists and turns the Sakura and Naruto had taken through the trees. Kiba ran in front with Akamaru. Pakkun's fellow beast waited for a any unexpected news and, if the nin dog missed something, would quickly alert them. Lee and TenTen stayed in the middle with Hinata and Neji on the left and right surveying with their unbeatable vision. Chouji and Ino covered the rear with Shino. Shino's bugs were almost useless as it was — the humidity slowed them down. But the steep advantage they could provide compensated for their lagging performance in the muggy atmosphere.

A short bark echoed to the group and their eyes turned to Kiba. A wall of dry, hot air hit them in a gust and Akamaru stiffened. He ran near Kiba, brushing against him, his ears tucked closely to his face, and whimpered.

Kiba's eyes widened. He broke away from the group and shot up to the tree tops. He cast his gaze across the endless trees and the color drained from his face as his eyes settled upon the giant column of black rising and mixing with the clouds. There was a long trail of gray across the sky that they couldn't have noticed under the foliage. The smell of ash saturated the air. He looked down at the trees and saw the damage. The forest was destroyed. Soon they would hit it, the desolate wasteland, a black mar spanning miles across the once luscious land.

"What is it, Kiba?" Hinata called from below. Her voice was terrified as Akamaru continued to wine under her hand.

The shinobi descended and they picked up speed. "The forest is on fire." Kiba looked ahead to Pakkun, anger drenched his voice, "Why didn't you tell us?"

"There wasn't time." His voice returned, barely audible.

"What happened here?"

Pakkun answered calmly, "It was one of the Akatsuki. He set off bombs in the surrounding area. The last explosion was massive, possibly C3 or C4, and created a flash fire. The flames were put out instantly but caused immeasurable damage."

"Deidara…" Kiba hissed. He had seen the maniac fight when they were at Rock Country's border.

The dog continued, "I heard from the villagers nearby that the crater has a radius of 5 miles. The Akatsuki's remains can't be found but no one could survive a blast like that. The aftershock shattered the windows of buildings miles away and the fires from smaller bombs have yet to be subdued in the north. A lot of the town was damaged but they managed to contain it. They've been trying to put it out for days."

Kakashi took a deep breath and looked at the dog patiently. "Is there any trace left?"

Pakkun shook his head. "Not here. But they stayed at the village nearby." Kakashi sighed. "Their trail will pick up after that."

The smoky smell coated the insides of their throats as they continued to run. Pakkun began to curve north and suddenly they could see the destruction. They team stared in awe.

The hills were covered in light gray. All that remained of the trees closest to the center were small black stubs. The trees ringing the area were all black and crumbled under their feet. They gladly turned away from the devastation and followed Pakkun to the little village Sakura and Naruto had been in only a week before.

"We're almost there."

In the distance they could see the little village. Far from the main explosion, there were burnt trees and the smell of smoke was fresh, more potent than what was lingering in the air. It looked like a chunk of the village had been bitten off. Half the buildings were only rubble now.

They could see the fires now.

A gasp rose from Pakkun and all eyes were on him. The small dog shot forward, closely followed by Kakashi. His student's smell reemerged and a smile broke out on his face. He could see where they had been in the village. He could see which way they had gone.

Excitement swelled in his team and they found energy in their feet again, Pakkun's dismay temporarily forgotten.

Until the small creature stopped.

Ahead of Pakkun a large fire flared wildly in the trees. Villagers scrambled with buckets of water and thick blankets to subdue it, but their efforts were almost useless. It had consumed much and was now a monster unleashed on their woods. That was where the trail led. That was where it ended.

Kakashi's mind went blank. His feet moved mechanically. Denial flooded him and he bolted ahead of the dog. It couldn't be true. They had come this far… Was this their reward? Was this punishment for leaving Konoha? He moved around the flames, seeking out the familiar smell.

It wasn't there. It wasn't anywhere.

The tree's blackened limbs crumbled under his feet and he dropped to the ground. His shoulder hit a tree trunk and it turned to dust. The ash and splinters of unharmed wood buried deep underneath flew into the air. The shinobi skidded to a stop. The dry air burned his eyes. He shut them. He couldn't look at it anymore. The trail had to have survived. Somehow. There had to be a way.

He heard footsteps coming behind him and Kakashi opened his eyes. Where was their hope now? What had they been sent after? The heat of the flames radiated on his face. He peeked around the corner of the trees. Stretching down as far as he could see were flames. He knew the trail was gone. The bombs had erased everything.

Kakashi let out an enraged cry and slammed his fist into the tree he had collided with. A rain of soot fell through the air like snowflakes. They settled on his motionless body.

His squad gathered behind him.

"Where will we go from here?" A monotone voice asked.

Kakashi was silent. He was lost. It didn't even matter how hard he looked, it would still be gone. His mission had fallen through again. This was the second time he had lost Sakura. And now Naruto was gone with her.

"Kakashi!" Neji's face tightened. He grasped his captain's forearm and pulled him around. "We can't stand here waiting! Where will we go!?"

Chouji's large hand landed on the shinobi's shoulder. "Let go, Neji." The man obeyed. "Kakashi…" His voice was gentle and easy. "We have to keep going. You know that Naruto wouldn't let Sakura get hurt. You know they aren't dead."

The shinobi kept shaking his head. "This is different. There isn't time."

Hinata's soft voice hardened, "B-but we know where they're going."

"Yeah," Kiba was inspired. "If we beat them to Rain Country, what's the difference?"

Lee gave rambunctious reprieve, "We should believe in Naruto-kun and Sakura-chan. They have their mission. It is our job to clear the road the best we can." He looked around for support. "Right?"

Their final teammate joined in. his face was completely hidden, but frustrated waves were rolling off him. He didn't like being left out of discussion. "Let's get moving." Shino's tone was final.

Kakashi looked around at their attempts to cheer him up. It was humiliating to have to be consoled by his former students. He let his head fall back. The internal clock kept ticking. Time was slowly slipping away. _Is this what the world is coming to?_ He though, _from the remains of the world, they will be the ones to drag us to our feet? They will lead us ahead?_ He gave a breathy laugh. Enough time had been wasted.

Neji could see the man slowly rise in spirits. Of course there was hope. Of course there was another way. It baffled the Jounin that Kakashi couldn't see it. There was always hope. There was always a reason to keep moving. Everyone there knew that. Everyone but not this one man, trapped in the horrors of his past mistakes and failures.

"Sure. Let's go." His voice was much older. They understood better than he. It was their time to lead.

Neji smirked, "To Ame."

They left behind the forest's destruction and headed west. Certain of their path, not another second could be wasted.

Behind them the fires kept burning. A small girl stood by as men tried to extinguish the trees. Her ebony hair was singed and her large brown eyes were filled with tears. Soot covered her from head to toe.

"Where is mama? Where is Misaki's mama?"

* * *

The shadow at the window loomed there like a ghost.

Sakura shot up, grabbing a kunai from her pocket, and readied herself, half dazed.

There was another rapping at the glass and an agitated voice addressed her, "Sakura, open the window."

She looked again at the shadow. Sasuke was glaring at her as he crouched there in the rain.

The kunoichi laughed, partially at her stupidity and partially at his awkward position. She quickly opened the window and he stepped in, dripping wet. Sakura, without wasting a moment, pushed him into the bathroom. She stood in the doorway as she tore off his cloak and bundled it up so water wouldn't drip on the wooden floors.

"Take a warm shower. I'll get you some dry clothes." As a doctor, she knew catching a cold from standing in the rain was impossible. All the same, being wet and tired was not healthy.

Sasuke looked at her for a moment as if waiting for her to say more. She stared back. Once he started to take off his shirt Sakura's face went florid. She turned away in a flurry and muttered an apology. Sasuke's mocking "Hn," was her response.

A minute later, Sakura heard the wet clothes slap the ground. She peeked over her shoulder. The bathroom door was shut. While picking up the clothes, she cursed her stupidity. She was so strange, staring him in the face after she had just asked him to take his clothes off. She dwelled over his expression when he started to unfold his wet white shirt as she walked down the stairs. When another wave of heat rose on her cheeks she pushed those thoughts away. The smell of food grabbed her desperate attention and drew her to the kitchen where Shizuka was working.

"Shizuka-san?" The woman smiled and greeted her. "Do you have a washer and dryer I can use?"

"Did your friend come back? I didn't hear anyone."

Sakura laughed, "He has quiet feet."

Shizuka was taking the bundle of clothes from Sakura when the phrase inflicted sudden consternation, "Your friend is a boy?"

The kunoichi grumbled at her error. Luck just wasn't on her side. "Yes, but it's alright. He's a trustworthy person." That was the truth. Even _if_ they slept in the same bed, Sasuke wouldn't even _consider_ taking advantage of her.

"I'm so sorry."

"Really, it's fine."

The woman shook her head. "I'll do your laundry free of charge."

Sakura's head drew back, _She would have charged me?_ This was oddly funny. "I can accept that." Anything free was fine by her.

Her wrinkled smile was content and she scampered through another door. "Dinner will be thirty minutes late. Could you tell those two upstairs?"

Sakura nodded and returned to the second floor. She approached the door adjacent to hers with a little hesitance. It seemed so rude, so personal to knock on a couple's door. Yet, she did anyway. The man answered. His hair was slightly disheveled as if someone had been playing with it. Sakura's eyes automatically sought out the woman. She was curled up on the arm of the loveseat beside the window. She stared at Sakura with big wondering eyes. Her hands were slightly lifted as if awaiting his return.

Sakura relayed the news and the pair shot sharp, playful words to one another. The man walked back to his seat and they curled into each other perfectly. His head halfway resting on her chest and her fingers immediately intertwined with his hair. He thanked Sakura and she started to move away when the woman gestured to the table beside them.

"That's the notebook. It's for every guest to write about their stay. We're done with it and when you finish you can give it to Baa-chan." She suddenly looked bashful. "I-if you want to. You don't _have_ to…" Sakura stared at the roughly bound book for a moment. Her eyes flickered between the doorway and the table, then stepped across the threshold and took it.

She gave a gentle smile. "Thanks."

It was very strange. Every person in this town had their arms open to the other. They never once had treated her like a stranger. In Konoha, if you didn't send a message ahead or have a passport, you were either kicked out or sent to Ibiki for friendly questioning. "Hospitable" was never the word to describe her old home.

Sakura shut the door as she left and opened the notebook. She immediately went to the last entry and read the final lines:

_This trip has really made things clear about our lives. I mean, if I can stand sitting around without anything to do and still be happy, then Mayu is really the one for me._

The handwriting changed.

_Same here!~ Maybe we should do this more often!_

The man's handwriting was elegant in the last phrases.

_Thanks from the bottom of both our hearts,_

_Mayu and Ryou_

Sakura smiled as she closed the book. It was a strange custom, but the notebook intrigued her. Maybe it would be worth it to write something too.

When she stepped into the room again she could hear the shower running. Sakura grabbed a pen from the desk and the blanket she had used. Before plopping down in the chair, she threw the unused blanket onto the bed. As soon as she was settled, she opened the book and began to read.

The witty perspectives, the varying word usage and handwriting… From the words themselves, Sakura could tell that none of them had ever heard of shinobi. There was a book full of names that had no clue what terrors lurked in the world. The mountains must have really sheltered them.

She gave a yawn. The sun was setting and the rain dispersed. There were no insects or animals scurrying — it was too early in the year for their activities — so Sakura could hear every sound in the surrounding area.

The young couple was discussing their trip home the next day; Sasuke had just turned off the water. Downstairs, Shizuka was greeting someone at the door. The words were murmurs but something in the visitor's voice made Sakura uneasy. She closed her eyes and her chakra expanded cautiously. Her senses were just about to touch his figure when he pulled away, giving a short "thank you" to the bewildered woman.

Her fingers burned in the air around him as he vanished through the door. His voice made her gag. It was the voice of a person beyond saving, a person hanging onto humanity with a thin thread.

It was a monster.

"Sakura."

Sakura leapt out of her skin and whirled around in the chair, her back against the wall. The squirming insanity that person had left infested her thoughts. The chakra inside of her was shrieking, torn between agony and joy.

Sasuke stared at her. She was panting and twitching all over.

"Sakura." His voice came a little softer.

She responded this time, the insanity immediately evaporated and she stood straight.

Her voice cracked. "Sorry. You startled me."

"Hn."

It was at this time that Sakura realized what he was wearing. Around his waist was one, lonely towel. Another fiery blush covered her face and she faced the other way, suddenly very interested in her cloak folded neatly on the dresser.

"S-So, what did you find?"

She listened to his feet clap against the floor. He moved to the side of the bed, then back to the bathroom door. "Nothing has turned up. We'll have to investigate more before we look elsewhere."

She fumbled with one of her pockets, checking its contents absentmindedly. "Should we leave now?" Her stomach's intentions were focused on the enticing smell leaking from below.

Sasuke seemed to sympathize with that feeling. "The rain will slow things down. Leaving now won't save us any time."

Sakura yawned and thanked Sasuke for the chance to rest. Days of non-stop work were having an effect on her. She moved to grab the blanket from the chair when she spotted Sasuke's condition again. Her words fumbled out, "The owner is drying your clothes." She left the blanket where it was and returned to her partially damp cloak. "Dinner will be ready soon." Sasuke didn't answer. Sakura waited in silence for a moment. She wanted to know what time it was. However, the digital clock was sitting on the bedside table. With his lack of clothing, Sakura would seem more like a lecher than a diligent keeper of time if she were to check it now.

She then imagined the cute little woman peeking in their room to tell them dinner was ready and seeing the two of them as they were. It was easy to misinterpret Sasuke's immodesty. She warily crooked her head to check. The little black box under the tall, old-fashioned lamp held her complete attention. It was twenty after seven. Her eyes almost glanced at Sasuke to see what he was doing, but she refrained and instead stared out off the now darkened window. The blue glow of the moon cast shadows on the surrounding trees.

The soft moonbeams were almost visible in the lingering clouds. The trees swayed in the breeze. Even though Sakura couldn't see it, she knew that there were buds on those trees. Spring was almost there. She squinted into the branches to see if there were any visible. As she did, Sakura recognized a familiar figure.

It was the silhouette of a person.

Her body went ridged, eyes unfocused, and throat closing up on its last breath. She was unable to see anything but the person standing just beyond the first rows of trees. Her eyes widened when everything moved to obey the wind but that figure. It was really a person. A person. What was more, she felt dark eyes on her. That gut wrenching paranoia she had experienced this morning resurfaced.

"I have your friend's clothes." Shizuka's maternal voice was accompanied by a knock on the door.

Sakura inhaled sharply and stared into the reflection on the glass. Her face was twisted with fear. She walked to the door and mechanically thanked the woman. She shut the door and threw Sasuke his clothes.

She was losing her mind.

She had to be.

Her fingernails dug into the paint of the window sill as she searched for the figure once more. She scanned the forest fervently. She had to be sure. It had to be real.

But there was nothing there. Not an animal. Not a soul.

"Let's go." Sasuke was already at the door. He waited with his hand on the knob.

Sakura sped out the door and down the stairs. There was a high pitched meow that made her jump. An annoying pain arose on her ankle and a fat, furry creature darted down the stairs.

"I'm so sorry! Did he scratch you? Tanner has such a temper sometimes." The woman plucked up the animal before it could escape and it settled down. "Naughty Tan-Tan!

"It's my fault. I wasn't watching my step."

Sakura gripped the railing. She was going crazy.

A nudge from behind got her moving again. Sakura didn't want to look behind at Sasuke's expression. She knew his inescapable perception wasn't needed to know she was coming apart at the seams.

When they entered the dining room Mayu and Ryou were already seated. Mayu provided most of the conversation during the appetizers.

"Are you two together?" Of course a woman's curiosity would flourish over their current situation. Sakura opened her mouth to deny it, but Sasuke beat her to it.

"Yes. We are traveling across the country for research."

Sakura flushed. He clearly didn't understand the question.

The woman knew this as well and laughed. "Man on a mission. You sure know how to charm a lady." She winked at Sakura. The kunoichi's face was red. Sasuke ignored them and took a bite of his food. "Cold, isn't he?" Mayu looked at Sakura with a warm face. "Is he always like this?"

Sakura's shoulders relaxed. "It's worse."

"Hmm… But he's awfully cute. I guess that's a redeeming quality." Her comments were all play. At first Sakura was a little worried about her boyfriend's reaction, but he seemed very calm. He knew her personality well. "Nope. Not much of a talker…"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. Sakura couldn't help but smile at this. Her mood was lightening more by the minute. Dinner soon arrived and they ate quietly. Occasionally Mayu would strike up conversation with Ryou or Sakura, but it was all very enjoyable.

Soon enough Sasuke finished and left the table. He gave Sakura a look saying 'I'm going to bed' and left. Ryou soon did the same and gave Mayu a heart-fluttering kiss on the cheek. Mayu had finished but stayed with Sakura to keep her company.

"Where did you pick up that guy?" She thumbed her finger in Sasuke's direction.

Sakura shrugged. "Old childhood friend."

"Not much of a friend." Her criticism stung a bit.

"He has his own way of doing things." Silently she wondered where he would be sleeping when she returned. "What about Ryou?"

Mayu blushed. "We've been married for 2 years." Sakura glanced at the ring on her finger. It was simple, but definitely treasured. "We're just here for the weekend. Baa-chan gives me that room for free during the summer. But since the weather has been so nice lately, I thought we could pay a visit."

Sakura mentioned the rain and Mayu laughed. "It's still very pretty. I love this kind of weather."

The door into the kitchen creaked and they were joined by Shizuka.

"Did you like dinner?"

Mayu stood and hugged her grandmother. "It was wonderful. I really think Ryou likes it here! We might move in town after all!" Shizuka patted the woman's head gingerly.

"That's wonderful news. He looked so sullen when I first saw him. Very stubborn. But I knew you'd win him over."

Mayu smiled and began clearing the table with the elderly lady.

A memory flashed in Sakura's head and she blurted, "Who was that visitor you had earlier?"

Shizuka's head didn't rise, but her hands stopped. Sakura could barely see, but the woman's face was dazed, as if rebooting. Then she looked at Sakura in the face with languor. "No one else came, dear. The other guests will be arriving in the morning. Did you hear something?" Mayu looked just as perplexed.

The kunoichi's mouth hung open. She was sure someone came in. No, she was positive someone came to the door. She heard their voice, she felt that sickening energy. She knew someone had been here.

"Must have imagined it." She corrected. Invisible tension in Shizuka's face released and she changed conversations. Sakura handed the woman her plate, thanked her, and trudged to the stairs. Imagining a figure in the forest was one thing, but she had _heard_ a person talk to Shizuka. And there was no way that woman knew any sort of terror strong enough to make her lie or hide something so simple. Furthermore, it was too soon for a woman of Shizuka's age to have a failing memory.

Something was wrong.

Sakura entered the bedroom silently. She shut the door closely behind her so none of the light from the hall would disturb Sasuke. Sure enough, Sasuke was lying in the double bed. He took up less than half the bed, but Sakura was definitely not going to take the other half. The chance of kicking in her sleep was too high and cuddling was one of her bad habits with anyone she shared beds with. Genma once took advantage of this in their travels and was awakened by her fist the next day even though it was entirely her fault.

She grimaced. Once again, she was being forced to sleep on the couch.

…

The next afternoon — Sakura had slept through the rising hours without a hitch — Sakura's body was incredibly sore. But she was happy to sleep in for once. It was a good use of their day off. Her traveling partner, however, was always at work. Sasuke had already departed to look for clues in the surrounding area and left a note for her to do the same. Their rendezvous point and time was written just below and Sakura sighed. Sasuke couldn't help being a ninja all the time.

Sakura did as she was told. She wandered the village and, when out of the villagers' oblivious gaze, ran to the next populated area to ask about Itachi's whereabouts. Because of their sheltered lives, Sakura only used his physical description to search. Thankfully, the town was small enough that they would spot a stranger from a mile away. None that she had talked to had seen him, but Sasuke was certain that he passed through. Then again, Itachi had a way of coming in and out of existence. If a person was able to erase himself from Shizuka's memory, wasn't it just as possible for Itachi to do the same to a few dozen more? The Sharingan was a powerful tool.

Then again, if she remembered correctly, the Sharingan's abilities were costly to the user. Itachi was already legally blind and risking any more damage would be stupid. No, no. Itachi had been very careful when moving past this town but someone had to have seen him.

Hours of searching passed and the sun was starting to set. Sakura's stomach growled obnoxiously and she slowed to a civilian pace. She hadn't eaten since Shizuka's gourmet brunch. She could smell the fire of a shop not far off and followed the path. There had been multiple stops along her search. The owners seemed to use their beautiful landscaping around them to their advantage. Tired walkers were fated to stop for a drink and get a little something to munch on.

As predicted, there was a dango shop around the next grouping of trees and Sakura sat on a small bench just outside. A young boy approached her and asked what she wanted. Sakura ordered and bided mildly.

The older man inside was talking to, who she assumed was, a friend of his. He sounded very excited. Sakura pulled her legs over the side of the bench and watched them interact. To seem aloof, she put her head in her hand and placed Sasuke's note in her lap, staring at it while keeping them in her sights.

"It hap'nd th'other day. I wuz endin' m'shift when th'man jus' bent over and started t'cough. He choaked a bit and den blood came pourin' right out! I got no idea what wuz wrong with 'im. But'ee scared th'hell outta me!"

The other man gasped. "What'd you do?"

"I helped 'im, 'course! Had another fella with 'im. Boy wuz passed out under 'is arm, limp like a doll! Had bright yelluh hair like you ain't ever seen!" The man put his hands up to his head and illustrated spiky hair. Sakura's eyes bulged. "The other man wuz blind as a bat. Nearly walked intuh th'wall when I told 'im t'take a seat." The kunoichi stood, no longer trying to conceal her eavesdropping. "I took 'im t'the hospital down the road. Had t'carry the youngun on m'back. He wuz built like a monster, like a ton uh lead on m'shoulders."

"Which hospital." Sakura's voice came out in tremors. The two men looked up at her like she was a wild animal. "Which hospital did you take them to?"

The storyteller was stunned, "T-t-took 'im t'the Oshiro place."

"_Where_." Her heart was beating in her throat. "_When_."

"O-o-over a week ago. On t'other end of Wakaitani."

The little boy held out Sakura's dango with his other hand awaiting his pay. The woman brushed past him and, not caring if they saw her or not, ran as fast as she could to the village. She quickly found Sasuke's chakra signature — it was the only developed pool of chakra on the mountain — and sought him out.

Sasuke looked agitated when she found him. She pulled him away from the poor soul he was interrogating.

"Sasuke, Itachi was here." His glare said 'I knew that', but Sakura continued anyway. "The man described him as blind and throwing up blood. He had someone with him."

His interest flared, "Was it Kisame?"

"No…" She delayed. It was terrifying to admit what danger her closest friend was in. The Akatsuki had him now. "It was Naruto."

Sasuke's neck tensed. "Where are they."

"The man took him to a hospital west of town."

Sasuke's head fell back. He stared at the sky for a moment in thought. "We have to move fast. The hospital won't be open much longer."

The shinobi started running. If they broke into the hospital, Itachi would escape. That wasn't an option. If Itachi was there and the hospital closed, he could easily slip out as soon as Sasuke and Sakura were forced to leave. It Itachi wasn't there and the hospital closed, they would be left without confirmation and would waste time waiting until tomorrow, too afraid of the other possibilities to force their way inside.

The sun had almost set when they reached the hospital. It was the tallest building among small businesses pushed together. This was clearly the center of town. The streets were heavy with people, so running wasn't an option. But it didn't stop Sasuke from gliding through the crowds with the inhuman grace only an assassin would carry. Sakura kept up with him and watched the light coming through those large glass doors.

"He was here." Sasuke's voice was saturated with certainty. And knowing that he had spent years telling false leads from the real ones, Sakura believed him.

She searched for the shadows of Naruto's massive chakra. It was impossible for something that flamboyant to not leave a mark. Sure enough, in the air, she could tell he had been here. Her body twinged as the Kyuubi's chakra reacted to its maker. It wasn't enough to directly follow, but it was certain. Fatally certain. Sasuke saw her expression and took it as confirmation.

As soon as they hit the door, Sasuke was speaking.

"I'm looking for my brother. He came here with a friend of his, a blond my age." His booming voice commanded total attention. The body and face behind it held kept it that way. He radiated determination and exhilaration. Finally there was a clear path. Sakura couldn't help but smile even as fear controlled her because she was partially responsible for this success.

A nurse approached him nervously. "W-we're about to close."

Sasuke stared her down. She timidly retreated behind the desk as he approached it. The man sitting before him glared back. It wasn't half as menacing or as perfect.

"Check."

"Name?"

"I don't know which one he gave you." _Probably_ _An alias, _Sakura noted. "He's a poor fugitive. He either won't pay the bill—" _No paper trail. _Itachi was definitely good enough to pull it off. "—or will give you bad money." The man at the desk scowled. "He has black hair."

The man roared, "I know what he looks like." Sasuke's mouth snapped shut. "He left seven days ago after self-transferring to a clinic half a country away."

Sasuke smiled. "He left bad money."

"You better be willing to pay up!"

Sakura was ready for that line. She put a stack of money on the table wrapped in a big white band. It was all that she and Naruto had taken with them. "This should cover the expenses." He stared at the large stack in awe. "What's left is yours when you give us information on the clinic they went to."

The man looked between Sakura and the stack of money. When it was clear she wouldn't take it back, he snatched it up to the nurse's dismay. He began shuffling through papers. When he gave up, he wrenched a thick binder from under the desk. He flipped through pages until stopping on one. Sasuke handed him a piece of paper and the man wrote messily on it.

"Thank you very much." Sakura smiled pleasantly as Sasuke snatched the paper from under the man's hand.

The two were out the door before the hospital employees could utter another word.

Sakura and Sasuke broke through the crowd again. It was beginning to thin out as more and more shops closed and when they reached an unpopulated area, they were running again. Sasuke handed her the paper to decipher.

The man had written:

_Check in for companion. Personal physician for clan 'Uchiha'? Unregistered clinic North West of Otafuku Gai. _

After that there were skeptical directions to the location. Landmarks, directions. Nothing concrete. Strangely enough, she could easily identify most of them. She knew what it was talking about… But the dots didn't connect.

Sakura paraphrased and looked at Sasuke for clarification.

"He's talking about Konoha. Konoha doesn't exist in towns like this. You can't find it on a map."

Sakura shook her head with a laugh. "Itachi is going to Konoha?"

"No, he's going to the Uchiha's personal physician. The perfect place to hide. That place is unknown by towns like this and has managed to stay out of the shinobi records. The Uchiha used it for years."

"Why hasn't someone discovered it?"

"Why hasn't someone discovered Konoha? It isn't that hard to hide a city."

Sakura didn't understand. Why was Sasuke aware of these things? Why hadn't Tsunade told her about places like Wakaitani?

She gave up for the moment. But Sasuke was destined to be questioned as soon as her head settled. "How far is it?"

"_They_ haven't reached it yet."

Sakura shut her eyes. Time was always a factor. But this time it was a positive thing. "Itachi isn't taking him to Rain… Why not?" He didn't have an answer for her. From that point on, he focused only on the path ahead and the route they would have to follow to this nonexistent clinic.

It was early in the morning when the kunoichi ran out of energy. Sakura wandered slowly, her eyes half shut. Her chakra was depleted from trying to keep up with him for so long. He had never moved so quickly when she was trapped by Hebi. It was most likely for the same reason. Staying close to Sasuke was a task a person could wear themselves out on. Sasuke had little patience and she knew he had left her behind. At least _that_ trail would be fresh. She could catch up to him after some sleep.

Her body was weightless as she floated toward a bright light. She recognized a kind voice and her eyes fluttered open. She was back at Shizuka's house. She looked at the stairs onto the porch and lifted her foot. Instead, she glided up effortlessly. She was a little startled and tried to move. A tightening around her stomach was her response as if she had been adjusted in someone's grip. Her eyes glanced up. Sakura's arm was draped over Sasuke's shoulders and his hand wrapped around her waist. She almost laughed at this reversal of roles. It was not long ago that she had pulled him from his death in the same manner.

"We'll be staying another night."

Shizuka yawned. It was early. "S'fine." The woman held open the door. "You left your things here. I knew you'd be back."

Sasuke entered the house and practically carried Sakura up the stairs. She heard the door shut and lock, then she slept.

…

But not for as long as she wished. Sakura was awake not two hours later. It was still too early for a person to be walking around but her parched throat and full bladder said otherwise. When she stirred, Sakura discovered that she was lying in the warm comfortable bed. It was too early to blush, but she was very flattered that Sasuke had not put her in the chair again.

Sakura looked at Sasuke's sleeping face with extreme satisfaction. His mouth was set a little open and his eyebrows were lax. There were small rings under his eyes, but still he looked very young. All of the childishness he had lacked while growing up had stored itself deep inside and now relieved a little tension while dreaming. Sakura waited for a minute or two taking in every characteristic. In the future, she would search for these in his usual expressions. She declared it her goal to make that his normal appearance. It would take a lifetime, but she wasn't sure how long that would be anyway. She'd at least try.

She licked her dry lips, once again aware of her original reasons for waking. She rolled out of the bed without a sound, passed the bathroom by, and left. Why ruin such a wonderful face if she knew where the bathroom was downstairs?

The stairs were very courteous to her and didn't creak under her careful footing. Sakura passed what she assumed was Shizuka's room and went into the bathroom. It didn't take her long to come out again. She was very thankful that the piping wasn't as old as the house. Shizuka must have taken the time to get new plumbing. There was no way Sasuke would be disturbed.

Getting a glass of water was simple enough. Shizuka's organization was ironically similar to Shizune's kitchen. She stared at the faucet as it dripped while sipping from her glass. She watched beads of water gather and fall. Gather and fall… Gather and….

There was a flicker in the metal of the faucet. Sakura was immobilized. There in the reflection she could see a distinct black form. It obscured the angular frame of the front door. Sakura's breath caught in her throat and her neck stuck on her shoulders as she attempted to turn her head. Every bone scraped the one beside it. She cursed herself; did it have to be so loud? She looked into the furthest corner of her eyelid in an attempt to see what the shadow was sooner. It was Shizuka. It was Sasuke. It was Mayu or Ryou. It was _someone_. She didn't hear them come in, but she was half asleep… Right? She hadn't been paying attention.

Finally she could see.

Sakura stared at the shadow that stood beside the front door. She could barely see it. It was cut off by the doorway into the kitchen, but it was there, the silhouette of a person. Sakura's bare feet gripped the tile floor and her leg muscled tensed. The shadow lifted a hand as if to stop her and she bolted up the stairs. When she reached the top and prepared to run the other way, she saw the shadow towering at the bottom of the steps. How could it be that fast?

Sakura was inside of the room with the door closed behind her in a second. Sasuke was already up. He stared at her with bewildered eyes. "What happened."

"There's something here. Something followed us here." She gripped her nails into the door, afraid to let go, but also afraid to stand so near it. She abruptly launched herself away from the door into Sasuke. She huddled against him. Fear overruled all sense of shyness or formality. She was petrified.

Sasuke moved her behind him effortlessly and stepped toward the door. Sakura clung to his back and followed him. He pulled open the door. Light was filtering through the window. The moon was glowing again. But there was no shadow silhouette. Sasuke took a bigger step, intending to check downstairs.

"Don't leave me." Sakura bleated. She was trembling.

Sasuke paused and then slowly shut the door, locking it. He walked Sakura to the bed. The woman's hands rested limply on the sheets. Her legs quivered. She wasn't going to move. Sasuke sighed and lifted her up by her waist so she would sit on the edge. From there she laid down on her own. She curled into a ball, imagining the figure in the trees, the voice asking Shizuka something in that eerie tone, the suspicion she had looking at the living room windows when she first arrived. It all ran together in the shape of a human.

"Sakura." Sasuke's voice brought her back. "Get some sleep." He walked to the other side of the bed and locked the window as well. Sakura numbly uncurled and laid her head on the pillow so she could watch him. Sasuke swiveled the chair so the window and the door were in sight. But for the moment, his gaze rested on Sakura. Fear loosened its grip on her for a moment. He was showing one of the sleeping face characteristics. His eyebrows were not scrunched and rested at a normal height on his forehead. It was the kindest look she had ever seen.

Sakura didn't take her eyes from that face until they closed and she slept once more.

…

Morning was much more tolerable. Besides the fact that Sakura had nearly taken Sasuke's head off when he woke her, she was much happier. They had only just started walking; Sakura still chewed some of the breakfast Shizuka prepared for them on the road. Sakura savored it, knowing that for the next week or two, they would go back to inhaling bad food.

At least she knew Sasuke would keep the paranoia away. That was the only bonus she could see out of all the trouble this trip was already causing her.

They passed the dango shop Sakura had stopped at. There was only one customer there, on his last dango. A hood covered his face, protecting it from the random drops of water falling from the dew covered leaves. The customer thanked the old man and put the money on the counter as he stretched his tired bones behind his stand. The hooded man walked away, in the same direction Sakura and Sakura were going in. He followed casually behind and strolled round a corner seconds behind them. He sighed at some private disappointment as he searched for their forms. Yet, he wasn't surprised when they had vanished out of thin air.

The leaves hung in the air, disturbed, just ahead as if something had stirred them in a jump. These were the leaves that had spent an entire season under thick snow; they had become soggy and meshed together. Yet something had moved them so effortlessly.

Under his hood, the man smiled. They couldn't outrun him. He crouched slowly and, with that inhuman ability that these people were so ignorant of, he also vanished in a swirl of decaying leaves.

"Sasuke… Sakura…"

He would follow them to the ends of the earth.

* * *

I just so happened to write all of the scary parts when I was alone at night so it took me a long time. I had to call my dog into the room so she could protect me… (How old am I?)

Anyway, got some SasuSaku on the way. You have absolutely no idea. This fic has a more defined romantic progression in store for them, Bwahahaha…

I'll see you soon.

Next Chapter – The Fool and The Reprobate

…

Who is more foolish, the child afraid of the dark of the man afraid of the light?

_Maurice Freehill_


	3. The Fool and The Reprobate

My, my, I certainly have taken my time putting this up. In the time you all were waiting patiently, I was catching up on the three—sorry—the _four_ F's I had. I wrote over 10 papers, did a dozen or so chemistry assignments and slowly stripped away my soul. In the midst of all this I had an epiphany and am very happy about life and writing. I'm anxious to see how I've gotten better or worse in my time off. I attended a very special arts boot camp called the Governor's School for the Arts. Out of the thousand or so from my state, only 224 of us made it. I became one of 29 out of 250 students accepted for Drama. It is by far the best experience of my life, the best and the longest three weeks of my life. I've learned more than can be put into words.

But I'm such a spaz. I stayed up late rereading your reviews for EnoK to see if I could make any small improvements and got all happy seeing the praise there. You have no idea how much your reviews mean to me. Thank you, loads and loads, for your dedication and interest!!! I love your comments soooooooo much. (excuse me as I try to act my age…)

That's what makes it hard to say that my updates will _not _be coming quickly. As I've mentioned in EnoK, I am writing a novel of my own this summer. Therefore, most of my focus will be dedicated to that. I will never abandon this story. No matter how long it takes, I _will _finish it.

A lot of writing beforehand… Again. Sorry for that, too. Now that you know the general situation, I won't waste your time like this in future chapters. Thanks a bunch for your patience!

Nut

…

**Playlist**: Jealous Enemies (Dark Captain Light Captain), Lazy Eye (Silversun Pickups), Tears from a Gun (The Black Ghosts), and Hero of War (Rose Against).

* * *

Who is more foolish, the child afraid of the dark of the man afraid of the light?

_Maurice Freehill_

* * *

…

The Fool and The Reprobate

…

* * *

His head was heavy with sleep. He couldn't remember the last time he had been fully awake. There were fragments of memories, locations that he had glimpsed at, and voices that slurred through his subconscious, but now he was alive again.

Naruto's eyes opened and the world blinded him. Every sense was tingling with awareness and a thrill ran through him. Finally he had escaped that numbed stupor. Out of the excitement birthed from such a small fact, he turned his blue orbs on the light again, hoping that it wouldn't reject him this time.

He stared into the light brown wood of an antique ceiling. With his first deep inhale he tasted the musty, cluttered room, and the perfume of ointments. The dusted air stirred and his clear eyes watched the particles summersault in the sun beams shining from an unknown source. The warmth that it created on his face and torso was intoxicatingly soothing. What a glorious state it was, being awake.

Another inhale smelt of human at the scent of skin steeped in years of life, he thought of an elderly face. When Naruto let his cheek rest on the flattened out feather pillow he smiled in confirmation. There was an old man attending to the ointments. His eyes were half closed and Naruto peeked at the vast knowledge behind them as they focused on mixing the herbs and setting out the instruments of medical achievements. The man paused for a second, sensing a change in the room, and grinned.

He looked at Naruto with vibrancy in his pale eyes. "You finally woke up. I was wondering how long I'd have to listen to you snore." He chuckled lightly with a smile that formed hundreds of wrinkles on his face.

Naruto's eyes widened. He opened his mouth and his vocal chords shook. He hadn't talked in an eternity. His voice was fragile and soft, "Did I?" was all he could manage.

The old man shook his head and grabbed a pair of scissors from the table he worked on. "No, I'm just pickin' on you. You were silent as the grave." He reached over Naruto's chest and the shinobi listened to the razor sharp blades slice through something. It was the most amusing sound he'd heard and it brought on a lot of memories. Most of them were of Sakura in the hospital tending to him. Those visions were older. He scrambled to find newer ones and his last conscious moments began running in rapid succession. Sakura's matured face was one of the first. Then he witnessed a fire rise before her fleeting form. Then crows swirling around him in clouds, then nothing. He recognized each of them as his own memories, but they didn't make any sense yet.

"How long?" His words were clearer but still cracking in his throat.

"You've been here about four days."

"What's…?" Frustration rolled around in his stomach. He just couldn't form words yet.

The man didn't seem to mind. His guesses were close enough to satisfy. "You've been unconscious, borderline coma. When you got here you had a few bruised ribs and a lot of burns. That hospital you went to did a poor job." There was a tinge of bitterness, but it was closer to the scolding of a disappointed mentor, "Those doctors don't know how to handle more serious injuries. Not everyone lives in a bubble…" The meaning of that was wasted on Naruto. "When you got here your wounds weren't fairing too well. You have a weak defense system, boy. You aren't one of those meat-loving body builders, are you? You have to eat vegetables or you'll die young."

Naruto stared at the ceiling and imagined all of the ramen he'd eaten over the years. Endless mountains of ramen… That was something he would spare the old man. There was no need to start an argument over his diet. But healing had never been a problem before. It was when the Kyuubi started fighting back that things got hard.

"No, I'm not."

"Good. I pumped you full of vitamins and medication just in case. That didn't help too much either. You burned everything up before it had a chance to work!"

Naruto took a couple of deep breaths as the old man prodded his ribs and coated the burns on his body with a cool liquid. It had a clean, sharp taste that stung his tongue but left a strange refreshing breeze in his mouth. There was nothing like that in the other hospital where he had stayed. Those memories were trickling back in and he distinctly remembered a pasty white, stagnant odor caking on his injury. The burns felt alright at first, but as soon as it dried, the heat would return and be contained by the shell over his oozing skin. It wasn't a sensation he had enjoyed. The old man's method was much more comforting.

Sakura's face appeared again. She was partial to homemade herbal remedies like the old man. That brought on old worries. Where was she? Was she safe? Her last expression for him was torn between her longing and terror. Naruto's eyes trailed over her eyes, wide and teary, her lips, pressed into a fine, regretful line, and her peach colored eyebrows as they scrunched. Then, as the chronological order had become, he thought about the fire that Deidara started. Deidara's play that caused so much pain, caused their separation, the endless flames and explosions surrounding them. Then the crows. Then nothing.

The crows. The crows. Clouds of black alive with fluttering. Where were the crows? What happened between the crows and nothing? Who was there? He wanted to imagine that face but the block in his mind was trying to push it far away out of instinctual fear.

Who was there. Who was with him.

Black crows, red clouds. Black hair, red eyes. He remembered.

That made his stomach churn. His eyes reeled. "Who…"

The old man didn't look up, "Hmm?"

Naruto opened his mouth but his throat was fed up with this overexertion. It fought him actively. He ground up his words, "Who brought me…?"

The man smiled, nonchalantly. "It was your friend. He's taken good care of you, hasn't left you for a second. Except to do some business now and again." He jerked an elbow in the direction of what Naruto assumed was the bathroom. His eyes couldn't look that far down. "Had all his meals brought here. He even carried you from that other hospital, he tells me!" The old man shook his head in admiration. "I couldn't imagine hauling around a big fellow like you. Especially all the way from Wakaitani."

"Where…" He pleaded. The dread in Naruto's stomach was rising in his throat like vomit.

"Wakaitani is a small village. Wouldn't get much recognition from where _you_ come from. He told me you lived in Konoha! Imagine, living in a place as big as that… You must have grown up together there, huh? He loved that little village. Too bad his job didn't let him stay."

Naruto gurgled sounds without words. _Wrong answer. Wrong answer_. Forming those words would be a different matter.

"Konoha doesn't even know about little Wakaitani, isn't that all? There are places like that, you know. You come from a different sort of reality, when you think about it."

"Where…"

The old man stopped, "What?"

Naruto squirmed on the bed. He wanted to scream it! "Wh-… is…"

"Wakaitani? Where is what?"

The man could see those red clouds. The last thing his memory had registered. The Akatsuki. The organization that wanted him dead. The organization that needed his accursed demon. Fear of the unknown was spinning like a top in his head. Did the Akatsuki have him? He reached for his stomach. His hand twitched as it moved. The sleeping paralysis hadn't yet lifted, but he made it. He felt the seal. Where was the demon's energy? Had it been taken yet? Had he miraculously lived? Or were they healing him so he would live long enough for the extraction? Where was that voice and face? Where were those dead eyes of a killer?

Where was Itachi.

"Wh-ere is… he?"

The old man's face lit up. "Oh!" He turned his head a little looking at something Naruto couldn't see. "He's sleeping in the corner."

His eyes were wild. Wide and full of terror. He had been right. They were healing him to kill him.

Naruto's legs were shaking. He gripped the mattress and, not caring if the man accidentally stabbed him with the scissors when he moved, threw himself up to see. His neck immediately strained its muscles and his abs burned. He felt the cold steel brush him, but it was pulled away as the man jumped back.

"Lay back down! You're wounds'll…!"

The only things in working order on Naruto were his gasping lungs, his thudding heart… And. His. Eyes.

In the cushioned chair in the corner, half collapsed on himself and sleeping quietly with a calm exhausted look on his face was a man with long black hair and thick bags under his eyes.

Naruto was pushed down easily by the old man. Shock had rendered him helpless.

Uchiha Itachi.

Uchiha Itachi was asleep in the same room with him. Breathing the same air, sleeping soundly.

Naruto couldn't find the energy to shut his gaping mouth.

"Itachi's always been this way. Popping up on me half dead in the middle of the night. But it's the first time Itachi has ever brought someone with him. You two must be close."

He said it. He said the name. It was true. The word "close" brought him close to cackling hysterics. "Close" was certainly one way of putting it.

"What've you been up to? Itachi hasn't been in this bad of shape in a while. You have to take better care of him, you hear?" Naruto couldn't believe his ears. This was a dream. This was a mirage that his delusional subconscious had cooked up. "That illness of his acts up now and again. If he keeps out of trouble he's got a good life ahead of him. But it's getting worse, right? I don't know for sure 'cause he won't let me check on it, but—you know how Itachi is—he's too kind. He'd let himself die before he'd quit on something once started."

This was not what he had expected. This was not the Akatsuki welcome he had envisioned. Itachi was receiving praise and concern from this man. What was realistic about that?

Naruto wanted to see. He wanted to see the face of the person that this man believed was real. He wanted to search for any evidence of this fabricated reality Itachi had probably programmed into this innocent's mind. There was no way a doctor could stand to work for the Akatsuki if he had any sense to object. Naruto started to move his arms again.

"Easy now. Let me help you up. I just put these bandages on and I don't want you to displace the medicine." The man helped Naruto sit up. "You have to rest for a while longer before you're really alright to move around, but I bet your back is killing you. It's good to adjust once and a while."

His words were once again unheard by Naruto. His attention was stuck on the mass murderer sitting at the end of the bed in that small eleven by thirteen foot room. There was barely enough room for Itachi's legs as they pushed against the footboard. His arm was bent up. Its competition was with the window sill that was too far off and too shallow to hold his elbow.

It was a mass murderer that Naruto had prepared for. But it was a human being there asleep in the warm, spring sun.

Naruto's eyebrows furrowed. What a strange turn of events. There was still suspicion in his gut. That was the instinct that never left. But something else, another source of instinct within that was completely calm. It was like a mutual understanding, an agreement in the dark corners of his existence that allowed Itachi to remain there and rest. It was the Kyuubi's influence that gave off such a feeling. Once again, Naruto was stunned. That was the first thing the Kyuubi had done to make its presence known since he had awoken. Out of all the things that should be horrified by his existence, the Kyuubi was calm. The one thing that was in the most danger of a painful death at the hands of that snoozing being happened to be the Kyuubi. And it was staying happily in silence. Waiting, watching. The Kyuubi, the very reason Naruto was involved with such a dangerous person, was lackadaisically lounging in the corners of his thoughts.

Naruto took in a deep breath, feeling the Kyuubi's settled state spread like the cool ointment had over his burns. It was safe. Somewhere mingling in the chaos, in the balance of friend and foe, Naruto had been forced into a middle ground with the Itachi. He felt like a complete fool, played by this strange resolved peace. Maybe the Kyuubi was preparing for the end, knowing there was no way to escape Itachi.

The old man saw that Naruto had calmed down and stood. "I'm going to fix the two of you something to eat. I'd ask what you want, but it'll be a while before you should have solid foods again. Itachi told me you've been living off a tube diet for a while." He gave Naruto one more crinkle-eyed smile and left.

As soon as the man was gone, panic set in. Why was the Kyuubi so calm? He asked the demon. He begged for answers, but it did nothing. It stayed still and gave off that sickening calm. The stress was ripped from his fingers like a naughty child's toy.

What was Itachi doing there, sleeping like that? What was the old man thinking, harboring a dangerous person so happily? Maybe he was twisted. But the Kyuubi was firm in its position. It seemed more aware of the situation that Naruto. Had his subconscious taken control? Maybe the Kyuubi had possessed him this whole time. That would explain the burns and memory loss. The thoughts of the two entities inside his body were as separate as two people at times. He only knew from second hand sources what occurred when the Kyuubi gained control. What city had he destroyed this time?

But the Kyuubi was still. It wasn't power hungry. It just sat in its prison with confidence. _Confidence based on nothing!_

Naruto's frustration was weak already and release of stress drained him. He shut his eyes and began to drift.

"Are you awake?"

Chills ran down his spine and his eyes were on Itachi in an instant. The murderous shinobi was rubbing his temples. The shadows under his eyes were even deeper after waking. He looked more aged.

"Yes." Naruto's voice hummed. It was getting better, but he was feeling a little stubborn. The Kyuubi's thoughts started to move at the sight of Itachi. They were there, drifting somewhere in his mind, but Naruto couldn't reach them. A childish stubbornness had resulted. He wouldn't use any more words on Itachi than necessary.

"You've been here for four days."

"He told me."

Itachi nodded once and was silent. He stared into Naruto's gauging glare. Itachi considered the conversation he had had with the Kyuubi and the bargain they had struck. It was clear that Naruto wasn't aware of the fact. This idea was more amusing that expected. The edge of a smirk hit his eyes, but he quickly covered it with his hand while massaging the bridge of his nose.

Naruto was far from pleased. "What happened? I don't remember…"

"Nothing happened." The shinobi reclined a little in the chair.

"Then why haven't…" Saliva slid into his throat and Naruto choked a little. "I healed yet?"

"I've been recreating your wounds." Itachi stated matter-of-factly.

Naruto's head jutted forward. "What?"

Itachi leaned his head back against the wall and rolled his shoulder. "Your healing has greatly improved and I needed a reason to keep you here a while longer for your mind to recover. Daichi-san is a smart man. If you hadn't been "injured" he might have looked into your suspicious coma. You needed a place to recuperate."

"But you said I was healed!"

Itachi's head snapped up and he stared at Naruto. The blonde had found his voice again and that last declaration echoed in the small room. Naruto bit his tongue. Itachi waited, listening through the door for the old man, just in case. Then once reassured that they had not been overheard, he leaned his head back again.

"You don't deal well with Genjutsu. Because it was a strong illusion it has taken you a week to recover."

"That's reasonable enough. Why do you sound so aggravated?"

"I _made_ the illusion, yet you still didn't recover when I removed it."

Naruto was immediately embarrassed. It was one thing to be insulted by Kakashi, or Jiraiya, or Sakura in Genjutsu training, but it was another thing completely when the castor was expressing Naruto's weakness.

He grumbled. "I _hate_ Genjutsu." The shinobi's voice caught and he looked around for a glass of water. Sure enough, the old man had set one out for him. He took a swig and breathed evenly for a moment. Itachi's illusion explained the dazed feeling that still lingered. He stared at the glass and thought of food. "I can't eat solids?"

"I lied."

Naruto grumbled again. Itachi was manipulative, snarky, dead faced, and a billion other things that pushed his buttons. The parallels he felt between Itachi and Sasuke's personalities were unmistakable.

"Did you really carry me, or did you make that up too to create sympathy?"

"No, that's true."

Embarrassment was a strong emotion. Naruto tried to visualize a smaller man like Itachi carrying him. What a humiliating experience.

"You aren't going to burn me again, are you?"

Itachi didn't get to answer. He sensed the old man before the blonde could and turned his head to the door, signaling Naruto to stop.

The old man entered holding a tray full of warm food. "Ah! You've woken up, Itachi. This one," he motioned to the blonde, "was really glad to see you." Itachi and Naruto stared at each other. Itachi huffed once, as if coughing. Naruto was shaking his head back and forth slowly and subtly enough that the old man didn't notice.

"I have your lunch." He promptly handed Itachi the tray with two full plates of food. He plucked a bowl and spoon from it and walked over to Naruto. He sat down and scooped up a spoonful of applesauce. He held it up to Naruto's face and waited to feed him. His eyes were full of parental caring.

Naruto looked at the little silver spoon, and then his blue eyes flickered to Itachi. The shinobi already had a fork in his mouth but Naruto managed to see one slight, speedy rise and fall of his shoulders as though the cough had returned. Naruto nearly growled when he realized what it was. Itachi was laughing.

Naruto's arms found strength again and, without a word, he snatched the spoon away from the man and sloshed a little applesauce onto the sheets. He ate it in a loud gulp and looked at the old man.

Itachi's voice was as monotonous as it had been with Naruto. "I think he can handle himself, Daichi-san."

Daichi smiled and stood. "I'm glad you're feeling better." He strolled to the door and glanced at the man in the corner, "Itachi, call me when you're done."

"Thank you." He bowed his head politely and waited for Daichi to vanish out the door.

Naruto stared at the Uchiha. His appetite clawed at his stomach, but he couldn't bring himself to look away from Itachi. There was still an uneasiness now that he was awake. Questions were bubbling in his throat. His stubborn silence was losing strength. Even though interaction with the shinobi seemed dangerous and even though Itachi couldn't be trusted, Naruto wanted answers.

The spoon clicked against the glass bowl as Naruto's hand relaxed. "Why am I here."

Itachi looked up from his food that he had begun to eat with civilized grace. His red eyes were vibrant, but not piercing. "You needed a place to recover and I needed a place to hide. Wakaitani was too large and, if pursued there, I could not guarantee our escape."

"That's not what I meant."

The shinobi leaned forward. "I can't read minds."

Naruto hesitated. The Kyuubi chuckled inside of him. Why did the bijuu seem so anxious? What was it waiting for? "What is this place?"

"This is the home of my personal physician. He is an unregistered doctor and therefore completely unknown by the shinobi world and by villages like Wakaitani." Itachi's lip twitched. It was true that he couldn't read minds, but he could see the direction Itachi's input would take Naruto. All he needed was a little push. "We're actually very near Konoha."

Naruto tensed, his eyes widened, his jaw tightened. "Why aren't we in Rain?" He blurted. "Where is the Akatsuki? You want the Kyuubi don't you? Why heal me if you're going to kill me."

"I have decided that you are more valuable alive."

You_ have decided!?_ He wanted to snap back. But once again, the Kyuubi stifled his urge. The disbelief inside him was subdued enough for Naruto to notice something in Itachi's wording. His thoughts clicked into place. He abruptly scanned the room for Itachi's Akatsuki cloak. It was nowhere to be found

"What about the Akatsuki? They need me dead."

Itachi smirked. "The Akatsuki won't find you here."

"Why not?" A cold chill ran over his arms and he blanched.

Itachi barked out one incredulous laugh. "Do you want them to find you?"

"N-no." Naruto was frustrated. Itachi was sounding more and more like Sasuke. It had been years since he had to deal with such an impassive personality. He adjusted the phrasing—Uchiha's were picky. "Why aren't you siding with the Akatsuki?"

"The Kyuubi has a purpose before it can leave you in peace, isn't that right?" Naruto was frozen. How did Itachi know about that? He nodded all the same. "Then there is one prominent reason why I will assist you: I want the Hachibi to lose."

Those words shot through Naruto like hot lead. He remembered. There was Sakura's face. The fire. The crows. Then, instead of nothing, his mouth formed words out of muscle memory. They were words _he _had never uttered, but something certainly had. The Kyuubi. They were the last words he had spoken before going into nothingness:

"If you give me the Hachibi, I'll finish the job."

Knowing lit up Naruto's bewildered expression.

That's what the Kyuubi had been so set on. That was the bargain, the middle ground. The conversation came back to him in full force. Every word, every memory the Kyuubi had been unable to share flooded him.

"You know how where it is."

The Uchiha's eyes were animated, the red swirled. "I know its objective. I know where."

"How?"

Itachi's face immediately sobered. Naruto drew back. "That's something you don't need to know."

Naruto sighed loudly and looked down at his full bowl. "Fine." His stomach gurgled. The applesauce was tempting his stomach. Naruto quickly inhaled the food but it only served to disturb his hunger more. _I want solid food…_ He groaned. Even if it got them a place to sleep, Itachi's lies were very inconvenient.

He heard Itachi rise and looked up in time to catch the plate he had dropped. The smell of fried eggs, rice, miso soup, and crisp toast flooded his senses. The shinobi lifted his head to see Itachi standing over him.

"The Hachibi is the last thing you should be worried about. If you can't come to terms with the problems at hand, you'll never achieve your ultimate goal. You have your own demon to concern yourself with."

Naruto considered this patiently. It was true; the Kyuubi was definitely a bigger problem. Death was _definitely_ the furthest from what he wanted. "How much time do I have?"

Itachi's lip twitched. "As much as is needed."

Naruto stared curiously. That childish frustration was rising and falling like the inhale and exhale Itachi's cryptic messages created out of sighs and gasps. He gritted his teeth. "When will it appear?"

Itachi sat in the old man's chair and glanced at the food. Naruto took the hint and began eating. _This_ was substantial. He devoured it gratefully.

"It will appear whenever I want it to. I am its target."

Naruto peered at him over the bowl of miso. "Why you?"

Itachi smirked as if enjoying a joke, "Various reasons." Then he looked at Naruto seriously. The Jinchuuriki slurped down half the bowl. "You need to gain control of the Kyuubi before it eats your body alive."

Naruto laughed aloud, "Tell _it_ that."

"It isn't trying to kill you. The Kyuubi is _contained_ inside of you. A bijuu. The strongest of its kind. It has limitless chakra and boundless strength and it's being contained by a 19 year old who can't even handle a Genjutsu after it has been released." Itachi ignored Naruto's shocked glare, "Whenever the seal inside of you weakens the energy pours out. There is so much condensed into that little space that it has no control. It is corroding you unintentionally. If it could possess you, it would. But you do not have the strength or the compliance to survive interaction with one another. At least for any lengthy amount of time."

Naruto's eyes brightened. "I'm a threat to the Kyuubi?"

"If you die he dies."

Naruto huffed. _What a trade off._ He had been expecting leverage.

"But now any amount of time does damage to your body, therefore to the Kyuubi. Soon enough, any release of the bijuu's chakra will kill you."

The Jinchuuriki watched Itachi, baffled. "How do you know these things? How do you know what it's doing to me? How could you possibly know if it's doing it unintentionally?"

Itachi tapped a finger in the corner of his eye. That black ink swam in the viscous crimson.

The Sharingan.

"The Uchiha already knew much of the Kyuubi. When I killed the clan I found all the secret documents that only a few members had ever seen. They spoke of the bijuu and the Uchiha's destiny to control them. And when in the Genjutsu I was able to examine your relationship. You think that releasing a little of the Kyuubi's chakra, is like squeezing it out." Naruto nodded. "But you are really creating a hole inside of yourself. The hole was very small when you were young. You didn't know what would happen and, subconsciously, you didn't want to let the Kyuubi out entirely. As a result, the condensed energy found an escape and took it. Imagine a dam with a hole in it. The water would come out in a small stream at first but overtime that hole would get larger and larger and crack the dam. Eventually it would crumble altogether."

Naruto couldn't believe it. He searched inside of his mind, feeling around the edges of the Kyuubi's contained energy. It was like taunt skin, like it was about to burst. He had never inspected the cage doors properly. They were rusted, the hinges were constantly quivering and the ground on the outside was warped like acid had eaten it. It was breaking.

"But there is a way to stop this."

His eyes flickered back to Itachi's face. Eye contact with the Sharingan once terrified Naruto. Now it seemed that there was no reason to. Even though Itachi had just finished saying that the Sharingan was built to control bijuu, Naruto couldn't bring himself to hate or fear him.

Naruto was jittery with anticipation.

"Tell me."

Just as Itachi's mouth opened, his head snapped to the side and the door creaked. Daichi was stepping in with that kind crinkled smile. Naruto nearly exploded at the sweet old man here to check on them.

Naruto's face lost color. _The food…_ Their little lies were about to crash around them. It Daichi saw him eating, would he ask questions? Would Itachi kill him? He looked at his lap, thoughts buzzing on whether or not there was time to toss it at Itachi.

But the Uchiha was already steps ahead. The plate of food was sitting in his lap already, fork in hand. Naruto was grateful, but scowled at the shinobi's effortless cover-up. He was too fast, too good.

"I've come to check up on Naruto-kun, if you don't mind."

Itachi wordlessly moved from the chair and sat back down in the corner. Daichi took his place and began prodding Naruto again. Naruto could tell he was examining the chakra and was mildly surprised. Daichi seemed to notice.

"I was a ninja once. Lived in Rice Country. We were all quiet folks with bloodlines concerning chakra control. Never even thought about its use other than making heavy lifting a lot easier and healing the sick. My clan didn't like the violence going on down South so we kept out of it. But I liked Fire Country. They had knowledge I couldn't find in my hometown, so I went down to make a living here near Konoha. One day this one," Daichi shoved a thumb in Itachi's direction, "stumbled into my house half dead." Itachi rolled his eyes at the man's exaggeration. It was clear that Daichi didn't understand warfare and what a person could withstand before dying.

"I've been here ever since. My income comes from the travelers looking for a place to stay, a few ninja here and there, and, my repeat customer, Itachi. Half of them don't even bother to thank me. But it doesn't really matter…" He leaned in closer to Naruto and whispered as if Itachi wouldn't hear him, "He pays well." Naruto didn't bother to look at Itachi. He didn't doubt that. With Itachi's skill he could collect any bounty or steal from any one he walked by without being seen. "I was busy taking care of him when my village was attacked by Orochimaru and he took over. Saved my life, really."

"Why aren't you known publicly in Fire Country?"

Daichi laughed lightly. "Don't need to be. I get enough each month to be satisfied and I get to do the work I love without restrictions. Besides, it's a shame to see a person so young out here alone." He looked at Itachi and wagged a finger, "I know you're a troublemaker in that Konoha of yours, but you have a right to live too. If I'm the only one to take care of you, so be it."

Naruto's jaw dropped. "You really don't know anything, do you…"

"Naruto." The shinobi cringed as he looked at Itachi. His eyes were cold and threatening.

"It's not necessary that I know, kid. People are people. Their past is their past." Then the old man sighed. He removed his hands from Naruto and leaned back in the chair. "Same goes for you." Naruto looked back at him curiously, happy to break the deadlock stare Itachi was still giving him. "I don't know what you are—" The Jinchuuriki tensed. "—but it isn't all good, is it? It doesn't matter to me what you've done or what you are. I'll help whoever comes my way. That's the way we live out here and that's what makes it peaceful." Daichi shrugged. "There is no hate or suspicion. There's no war. I don't _have_ to fight. Don't think it's because I don't know how. Death and war has plagued every generation. In one way or another, every human is prepared by their surroundings for battle. But I, like many others, choose not to.

"I've lived the life I desired, doesn't matter how long I've lived or how successful and known I am. I could be starving to death and I still wouldn't pick up a kunai to save myself. I'm happy where I am. Poor and unappreciated. That's just how things turned out. What happens will happen. The more we resist, the more it will hurt us."

Naruto couldn't speak. This man held more knowing in those words that he had ever heard from his teachers and trainers over the years. His answer was simple but, in the grand scheme of things, so was peace. No fighting. No hate.

Easier said than done.

If Naruto could make those words a reality, maybe he wouldn't be in this mess.

Daichi sighed and stood. "Well, I talked your ear off. I'm sure you're ready for some rest." He patted Naruto's chest. "Your body is still weak, no matter how good you feel right now. You push it to far… you may not wake up next time." Naruto met eyes with the man. They were sad and clear.

His gut shrunk guiltily. It wasn't the old man's place to worry. "I know what I'm doing."

Daichi smiled lightly. "I hope you do. I hope you do…" It was clear that he wasn't saying what was on his mind, but Naruto thanked him for that. It was bad enough just reading his expression. "I'll leave you two alone." Daichi glanced at Itachi. "I guess you won't be staying for lunch."

"No." Itachi blandly answered.

The man didn't linger. He checked Naruto's bandages once more and handed him the container of spread he had used. With a small wave, he left the room.

Itachi watched the door, no doubt listening to see if Daichi was far enough away to start talking again. But he remained silent, even after they both knew he was long gone. Itachi stared after Daichi with rage pushing together his brows. It was the most emotion Naruto had ever seen emerge from him. This impossibly stoic man was drenched with helpless anger.

"I hate that man."

His voice stung the air. Bitterness, sadness, envy. Some things, stranger than expected leaked in to that cold tone.

"I hate listening to him ramble about peace."

Naruto let the words soak in. They rang in the air dismally.

"Why?"

Itachi looked on, dazed. His red eyes gave nothing away but his words were enough. "I will never see it come to light." The Sharingan smoldered like a dying flame, blindly, as the sun burned into the side of his face. "No matter how I try, I will not live to see peace."

Naruto couldn't speak for a moment. He watched the mass murderer ponder what peace may look like and he felt a frustration build up in him.

"You would just give up?"

Itachi turned his head slowly as if it weighed tons rather than pounds. As if all the weight of the world had suddenly descended upon him. All the shadows, all the sickness, all the death, all the fruitless hopes of a lost generation.

"You and I are different, Naruto. I was born into a world where there is no peace. No matter how hard I believe in it, it will never come to pass. I can't see a world where there is no hate or fighting. That is my reality. You were born in that world, but you are very different. You saw the same reality I accepted and you made your own instead. It is flawed. You are naïve. You are a child. An infant with radical dreams. You try to find the good in everything. But there are some things that simply cannot be cured. We can't all be saved."

"Are you telling me I can't try?" His neck tightened. Itachi's statements against him were pricking all of the old wounds created over those years of prejudice in Konoha. They said to give up. They hated him for trying.

"I am telling you it is foolish to try. Even inside killers with a fraction of my wickedness, there will not be any of the goodness you believe exists."

The blonde almost laughed. He leaned forward on his palms, not knowing whether to smile or cry, and put his head down. "But there _is_ good in you." He stared at the white sheets. A pain clawed at his chest. "What saved Sasuke?" He wanted to look at Itachi and see what he knew was there. "You _saved _him." He resisted that temptation and listened to Itachi's breathing slow to a stop.

There was a little muffled cough. His laugh. "You see something good out of the slaughter I am responsible for?"

Naruto glared openly at him. No longer a sneer, but a rugged, loathing stab. "No! Nothing good comes from death, but I know that you had to have seen something worth killing for. No one takes a life without a better future in mind. Whether it is to protect, or please, or save. We kill for a reason."

"Is is good?"

"It is never good, but _you are!_" Naruto's fist slammed on the side table, making the room shake to stillness. "You're vision is good."

"I survive by creating visions of torture. I am a blind man with the power to alter reality. Genjutsu is the closest I can come to seeing. Those illusions are fabrications I create to cripple and kill. In exchange I lost any hope of salvation along with my ability to see reality." As if on cue, his eyes drifted to the shinobi. He spoke to Naruto, but he didn't see him. It was as if he looked just above his head.

Naruto watched them carefully. He imagined the red world he had been trapped in. The blood, the pain, the voices, the masks, the brothers. The sadness. The pleading. It was real. It was the true Itachi.

"An illusion can show more truth than reality."

Itachi's eyes flickered. He turned his shoulders so the sun hit him, full body, trying not to listen.

"They were real weren't they…" Naruto sat up and, against his better judgment, smiled at Itachi. "Those visions were your reality. Your real thoughts. It meant something more than just slaughter. It was more than just an order. You wouldn't have cried for Sasuke if you didn't have _some _feeling."

That crossed the line. Itachi's calm expression dropped in an instant and that killer look was cast upon Naruto.

Feeling a little high in the tense situation, he continued. "I'm not running on false hopes. Neither is Daichi. I had a little epiphany while he was talking and I know it's possible. Stick around, Itachi, and you'll see peace." The tension was laughable. That murderous feeling Naruto once cringed at was radiating, but he couldn't stop. "It's weird what you'll do for the people you care about… I have a monster inside of me. It's killed thousands and I've hurt the ones I love because of it, yet I have friends that will still believe in me. They see past what I fear the most about myself and care for me anyway. I would go to the ends of the earth for those people—anyone, for that matter—if it meant saving them from their own darkness. That's what you did for Sasuke, isn't it? Don't get me wrong, you killed a lot of people and you're really, really twisted. But that was based on love, wasn't it?" Naruto pulled his legs to the side of the bed and sat on the edge for a moment. He muttered quietly, "I can't take a life. No matter how evil… But I wonder what I would do to save Sasuke right now. I wonder how far I would go for Sakura, or Kakashi…"

"What about Konoha."

"Hmm… That's different. Konoha is a place. It's the _people _I'm worried about." He chuckled. The first face to come to mind was Tsunade. Her "workaholic" attitude was probably having a field day handling two infuriated elders. The search for him was sure to give her a bigger headache than any hangover she'd experienced.

The clank of silverware against china caught his attention again. Itachi was holding out the food. Naruto mindlessly reached for it, but Itachi didn't let go. He waited for Naruto to face him.

"Do you really think you will do anything to save these people. Would you go against any rule, any alliance, any command… Would you go against Konoha itself?"

Naruto stood, swiping the plate away. "I already have." He grinned.

Itachi also stood. He smoothly checked his pocket and pulled out a thick wad of cash. He tossed it on the bed the same moment Naruto cleared the plate and put it on the nightstand. Naruto took a look at that money. There were two papers in the stack as well. On one he recognized an account number; the other was a letter crumpled and faded, as if written long ago. The four words visible on the envelope on it were written in elegant script: Thank you and Goodbye.

"We'll go out this way."

Naruto followed Itachi out the door. They walked down an unknown hallway where the sunlight littered the floor in checkered patters mirroring the panels of glass and their wooden frames. They stepped outside and Naruto felt a little twinge in his legs. The instinctual fear wanted him to run. He turned his heel on the wood and imagined running from Itachi for a moment. They both stopped as the Jinchuuriki scanned the forest. The trees were starting to come alive with spring's graces. There were lifeless branches hanging down here and there, but the woods were far from dead.

Naruto's eyes settled on the Uchiha. Itachi took in a deep breath and started walking. Naruto waited for a moment, but followed.

"You could run."

The blond sighed. "You'd catch up."

Itachi started a mild jog before leaping onto the closest tree. Naruto followed below, not ready for the heights yet. After all, he had woken up not long ago. His legs tingled as he moved. His body was still a little groggy, but it felt good.

Naruto tried not to let his sights cast across Itachi, hoping to see a fallen expression or open mouth as to speak. The shinobi was like stone in motion, not allowing a moment of hesitation or start to cross his face as he dove through branches. He was flawless. A seamless creature that had revealed some very well hidden wounds that dug deep to his bones. Naruto had seen more of this man than expected.

"I had a purpose then…"

The blond locked on the back of the Uchiha's head. He saw the jaw move to shut.

"…to make him proud…"

Itachi's voice was muffled by distance and wind. Naruto squinted against the sun to see Itachi running above. He didn't dare to speak, afraid that Itachi would stop.

"…I didn't want the fate made for us by Konoha or the Uchiha. I didn't want that reality… I wanted his happiness…"

Naruto's feet moved on their own, his thoughts were wrapped around the quiet words easing out of that taunt throat. A raw rumble aged by whispers and soundlessness. Words that had sat in the corner, trapped in by the circumstances of Itachi's existence. Itachi didn't veer off course as he spoke. His face remained colorless, not a tint of emotion present.

"I wanted him to find the strength… to reject that reality and make his own."

A grin flashed across Naruto's face. There was something worth saving in Itachi. He had seen the truth inside of Itachi that drove him to kill, that drove him to fight, to protect.

Itachi was a fool in many ways. Then again, so was Naruto. His boundless hope was baseless. His dreams were endlessly naïve. He refused to allow his rotting core to damper his light but, as a result, he was tearing himself in two. It was just the same. His fear of the evil within was just as deadly as Itachi's rejection of the future and its potential.

Two men facing two lifelong conflicts. Two men afraid of very different things. Who can say they are evil or good? Who can say one is better than the other? They suffer from the same symptoms created by the same negligence.

Resistance.

The more they fight, the more it costs. Whether it is against the light or the dark, they are fools until they see where the truth lies.

* * *

She was old. She was tired. Her weak eyes stared into nothingness as thoughts consumed her. The room was empty. It was dark. She could feel the chakra surrounding her. All of the soldiers perfectly tuned. Bred and raised to follow orders. Orders that would end her.

But she wouldn't fight. Shizune and the ANBU were safe, far from her wanted status. They would have more time. They could defend themselves long enough to escape. When looking at it objectively, the placement of the Konoha archives was poor. The archive library sat right by the wall. It would be an easy escape for her shinobi if worse came to worse.

At least they would live.

Her time was up.

Lonely.

Lonely.

Lonely.

Her knees jerked out of their locked position and she walked to the door.

She didn't say goodbye. She didn't hear it. She didn't want it.

She didn't want to be alone. If she ignored the farewell, it never happened.

Bravery was one thing. She could fight, she could die for those she loved. But she was old.

Naruto, Sakura, Kakashi, Shizune… Were they safe?

Yes, they were safe. They could defend themselves. They didn't need her anymore. And she was tired. She was done.

She had done her job. She had protected them. She had led them. There were the ones left behind with her, but they already knew she was no match for all of Root. The council had control now. All that remained was to take advantage of what they could. All Tsunade's hope rested in Shizune. If there was something else about Danzou, something that could protect those that remained, they had to find it. They had to use it. Those were the only people worth risking their lives for. Tsunade was an image, just as Konoha was. She was rooted to this spot just as deeply, she knew that now.

She would die alone.

Lonely.

They said goodbye to her. They looked at her with hope and love. But she didn't want to see it. She didn't want to part from it. She was lost already. She was gone. Part of the dead, almost. Strength had nothing to do with it. There comes a time when you must look past dreams and see what is possible and what is not. She dreamed of surviving this tragedy, but she knew the Root wouldn't let her live. She dreamed of saving all of the people left behind, but she knew they could not be helped now. She dreamed of seeing the ones she loved one more time, but she knew she was too weak to look at their faces and say goodbye. She was afraid to lose them. She was afraid to acknowledge their love because she knew it would soon be ripped from her hands.

Danzou was dangerous. She couldn't let them die at his hands. She had to send them away. She had to give them time. She was the last wall he needed to crumble before the council would gain total control. The soldiers were patrolling. Maybe they would leave her alone until the end. A terror shot through her. Shizune would try to come back. Shizune would try to fight them.

Then she laughed dryly. Her task to them would take time. Regardless of how strongly Shizune felt, the ANBU acted on instinct and emotion combined, they would not risk more lives to save one. Shizune and that information were more important than an old woman destined for execution.

Lonely.

Was it over for her?

Yes.

But.

Maybe she wouldn't be so lonely…

If she knew they were safe.

Maybe Danzou's fears in the open would wipe out what threatened the future of Konoha.

Maybe he would lose.

Maybe they would come back,

And she could say goodbye again.

Properly.

Maybe she could believe in them.

Even if it defied possibility…

Maybe she would hope.

* * *

Nut~

You have _NO_ idea how much fun I have! Got a little sad at the end, but whatever. You had to know what was going on. Tsunade is getting a little dark, don't you think? Her spark is a little weak (a little?) but I promise she still has a big part to play in this mess.

This was a bit of a transition chapter for me. Took forever to write, but the Naruto/Itachi stuff was _really_ important.

I think it's hilarious that you all suspected Naruto as the person following Sakura and Sasuke. You couldn't be more wrong (not to bash you or anything. I just think you'll be in for a great surprise when you find out. I haven't written about this character yet… Try guessing and I'll feed you.)

I'm enjoying the pecking order of EnoK. In the last chapter, Paths We Take, the Kyuubi was really high on the totem pole. Then in here we see Itachi next in line. Then poor little Naruto at the bottom. In reality, Itachi's rudeness towards Naruto is compensation for the Kyuubi's stubbornness and dominance in the situation (in my eyes).

Isn't it sad that I'm going this in depth for a Naruto fic? Sad, very sad…

Anyway, thank you for being patient.

Want a good idea of how long Gouka is going to be? Gouka is going to have 18 chapters and each chapter has about 8000 words. I'll do the math… **Gouka is going have 144,000 words. **I think I'll leave this on here as a little prediction. I like guessing.

Next Chapter – Twisted Road

…

The great thing in this world is, not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving.

_Johann Wolfgang von Goethe_


	4. Twisted Road

Playlist: Spies (Coldplay), The Sharpest Lives (My Chemical Romance), Next in Line (Meese), Bleed Like Me (Garbage), and Drifters (Patrick Watson).

* * *

The great thing in this world is, not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving.

_Johann Wolfgang von Goethe_

* * *

…

Twisted Road

…

* * *

The gates of Rain Country had been reduced to a pile of rubble ten feet high. It was nothing like Kakashi had remembered. In times of war, a village's walls were indestructible, untouchable. Never before had he seen this kind of devastation. These walls had been ripped down without retaliation. They had been abandoned.

"Hinata, look for hidden opponents. I'll find Shikamaru." Neji scanned the area.

The skin puckered around their eyes and Hinata leapt onto a higher pile of concrete and metal braces. There wasn't a soul around them. The remains weren't being defended. The rubble wasn't being disputed over. There was hardly even sign of a struggle.

"I see Shikamaru. He and Gaara are north of here." The Hyuuga noted his cousin shaking her head. "There isn't anyone here, let's move out."

Kakashi took his place next to Neji. "Rain nin like ambushes so be on your guard. Move quickly. We don't want to draw their attention. Hinata, you keep us on track. Kiba, find them before they find us."

Kiba rolled his eyes. "Look at this place. No one's here."

Kakashi's eyes squinted in a chilling smile. "They will be."

The team nodded silently and began running along the wall with their inhuman speed. The further north they went, the more bodies started appearing. The dust had already settled, the fighting had ended here long ago. The shinobi passed by ditches where they would be thrown. The corpses were stacked respectfully and covered. It didn't help much with the smell.

The odor of burning bodies, the thick metallic tang of blood, and the remains of gunpowder was lifted into the air by their movement. War. They had never seen it before and they would never forget it. It would mar their memories until the day they died.

"To the left!" Kiba's voice roared through their silence. All heads turned as Akamaru fell upon an unsuspecting shinobi. A sickening orchestra of snaps and cracks followed and the soldier hit the ground. The nine geniuses of Konoha were upon the hoard of ninja before they could alert one another.

Kakashi paused as his three victims fell and looked up. From the row of rooftops, dozens of shinobi leapt out. Fifty, maybe more, were in midair, about to swallow their team.

A cloud of black was between them in an instant. Buzzing was suddenly drowning out every sound.

"Kiba." Shino's droning voice came from an unknown direction and was quickly followed by Kiba and Akamaru's animalistic cry. Two spiraling forms broke through the cloud that was blinding and tearing it's targets to shreds. The two wove in and out of bodies, splattering blood on the dusty road before they even hit the floor.

The first wave landed right on top of Hinata and Neji. That was a mistake on their part. The duo started taking out chunks of their numbers with gentle fist.

"Chouji! Cover me!"

Chouji glanced around. Lee was standing still, his head down. The chakra inside of him was condensing. He wasn't paying attention to the team of nin about to strike.

"_Seimon!_"

"_Bubun Baika no Jutsu!_"

Just as a pulse of chakra came off of Lee, Chouji's enlarged arm shot past and knocked the enemy nin away. Lee's skin was quickly becoming very red.

"Hold them off, Chouji!"

"No need to tell me twice." His swung his other arm to keep away the recovering troupe while smashing a shinobi as he was making hand signs. "Hurry up!"

"_Shoumon!_"

Chouji was just about to swing again when the earth beneath him was torn open. He lost balance for a moment.

"_Doryuu Katsu!_" A small woman off to the side had her hands together. She caught Chouji's eyes and lifted her hand. The ground beneath them rippled and moved with her, throwing Chouji twenty feet. Lee was defenseless.

"Lee, get moving!" A furious female voice came from behind as a hail of weapons crisscrossed around the enemy nin. The kunoichi flicked her finger up and a rock wall blocked the attack TenTen had unleashed.

Lee's head lifted. The woman's companions were rising. They dove at him, imagining that their numbers could outdo him. Lee spun, knocking one in the jaw. Blood spewed from his mouth and he was launched into another. Three more surrounded Lee in an instant.

"Get off me!" He flipped in the confined space, his foot jammed into one and he kicked off to get one in the gut, another punch in the face. They fell back.

"_Tomon!_"

Lee vanished.

The soldiers looked around, disoriented. Suddenly he was in four places at once, striking them all at once. His body flickered in and out. They only had seconds to take in his red skin and bushy brows before the lights went out for good.

TenTen was high above them, scrolls swirling around her. She scanned her hand over them as they fluttered past and weapons appeared from clouds of white. They threw themselves at idle opponents trying to make sense of the unfortunate circumstances they had stumbled upon. Ino was standing behind her, uninjured and inactive. She leaned forward on anxiously, ready to join in.

"You should just stay here. You're at a disadvantage."

"I know." Ino stepped back. A platoon was running to their position, weapons ready. "I'll watch your back. Take out that woman using earth jutsu!"

The kunoichi dropped from the roost and hit the ground. Ino threw her hands into a jutsu and seven clones charged. She got a good look at the nin as they battled her doubles. They were very young. It was clear that the main threat was the leader, probably their teacher.

She was just about to cast a Genjutsu when a wall of rock hit her. Her back hit the tower her friend was firing from with a little grunt.

"TenTen! I told you to watch the earth jutsu!"

"I am!"

Ino looked back at the enemy. Her clones had all but disappeared in puffs of smoke. The nin had her cornered. Ino stood. It was him. He was casting it.

It made sense that one of Rain's forces could possibly use earth jutsu due to kekkei genkai, but two? It didn't seem possible. Rain was known for its extensive variety of water jutsu yet she hadn't seen any of the use it from this miniature army.

"_Shinranshin no Jutsu!_" Two of the nin stopped in their tracks. Their eyes moved around, terrified as their bodies began attacking their former teammates.

Only the captain remained unoccupied.

Ino ran to the side as another wall of rock sent out to squash her. She leapt high onto the side of a building only to have it collapse under her. She pushed off before the concrete could clamp down on her legs and landed roughly. Her ankle wasn't pleased with the sudden stop and pain shot through her legs. She ran. Running eliminated the pain. She was lucky they weren't sprained. If she went any slower, the churning waves of rock and rubble would have her in a second.

She was at a disadvantage. When coming to Rain they had expected midrange attacks. Water doesn't have power from a distance. It has to stay close to one source. But earth could be used at any distance, preferably long range. That didn't suit Ino's style at all.

Her thoughts distracted her. The earth rose in thick panels, blocking her escapes as the rock behind got closer, inches from her flying legs.

"_Suiryuudan no Jutsu._"

Above her, as the two deadly forces were about to collide with her in the middle, a giant dragon of water hovered.

There was the water jutsu she had been expecting. She was about to be killed from three directions.

The water shot at her and she anticipated the painful pressure it would bring before crushing her. She shut her eyes. When it hit, it stung everywhere. Her feet were swept out from under her. Her hearing, which had been filled with earth grinding against earth, was cut off and immersed in nothingness.

She opened her eyes again in the water. She expected to see the shadows of rock shutting out her last glimpse of sunlight, but instead stared straight into it. She was high in the air and encased in the water, not crushed by it.

The dragon retracted, releasing her where the ground had not been destroyed. The water pulled back over the open canal and dropped.

"You should know how to pick your fights by now, Ino."

The blond ran to the desecrated wall and looked over the railing where the water surrounding the city was being channeled. A column of water came out of the darkness with Kakashi riding on top.

From all of the canals serpents of water lifted their heads and beams of high pressure water were released upon the enemy.

"They're Rock nin." Kakashi appeared out of nowhere behind her and the kunoichi jumped. "They're trying to take over Rain. I'm guessing they thought both forces would be exhausted and rendered defenseless. They didn't know that no one was home to fight back."

Ino's brows scrunched. "What about Shikamaru?"

"I sent Pakkun to alert them. We just need to hold our own until they get here with reinforcements."

She surveyed the battleground. The captain that had almost killed her was lying near his team. They were all unconscious or dead. TenTen was still gunning down from afar. Just beyond Ino could see Hinata. Her hands were glowing, streams of chakra piercing through the platoons surrounding her. Her eyes were sad, but serious. Even gentle Hinata was capable of fighting.

The sound of a drill grinding the ground screeched in their ears. Ino and Kakashi witnessed Kiba plunge into a wall of living earth. He busted through. Only to meet the spear waiting for him. The impact shook the bridge they stood on and dust flew into the air around him.

"Kiba!"

Kakashi looked at the blonde. "Let's go."

They ran through the flying kunai. Kakashi's clones gathered in front of him, defending Ino, and pushed through a squad. They trailed them only to be knocked back again by a giant fist. Chouji's arm swung over them. Ino bent down and it brushed her hair. The three teams ahead of her and Kakashi were hooked and thrown into the water.

Kiba's fallen form was seconds away.

The silver haired man turned around to face the awaiting shinobi. Ino stumbled to her teammate's body, her hand already glowing green. She turned him over and felt around his body. It wasn't serious, but he was losing consciousness.

"Kiba, come on, Kiba! Stay with me for a bit. Just a minute. Come on." She smacked his cheek for a moment until his eyes rolled back to life. "Come on. Talk to me. What happened?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine." His arm waved dizzily in the air. "I'm fine…"

Ino gave him a hard slap. "What happened?"

His eyes widened and he looked at her. "That hurt. Don't hit your patients."

She put both her hands on his chest and they glowed softly. "What happened? Is anyone else hurt?"

"No. Everyone's fine. I just messed up." He looked away sheepishly. "There's a woman with a blood limit in the middle of the field. I wanted to bust through, but she was ready for me. It's amazing, like the rock is alive. It's adapting to us."

"Where is she?"

He pointed. There were jagged rocks rising and falling all around one petite woman. Her arms were thin but as they fluttered, a thousand stones would be flung at the shinobi. Kakashi's serpents of water kept her attacks at bay, but it was clear she would win a fight when it came to endurance. Her body was perfectly in tune to the rock. It curled around her legs like an obedient pet and blocked every angle TenTen tried to get on her. She wasn't even emitting chakra signals any more. Her body was completely connected to the earth.

"She's stationary." Ino's eyes glittered happily.

"What?"

The kunoichi looked back at her friend. He was hurt, but his stamina was helping immensely with healing. "Are you alright on your own?"

He got to his feet and stretched. "I'm dandy." He gave her a toothy smirk.

"Does she have an opening?"

"That's what I was aiming for. There's one spot she always has open. She can't turn easily and it's the best vision she has. It's well defended." He gave her a playful sideward glance. His mood was very bright considering the circumstances. "You want in on the action?"

Ino couldn't help but smile back. "Yeah. I'm tired of sitting on the side lines." Ino touched the mike strapped to her neck. "I have an idea." She spoke into it. "TenTen, Kakashi?"

There was static, then an answer from TenTen. "What is it?"

"I need you to hit her blind side with everything you have. Kakashi? Can you hear me?"

She watched the shinobi from a far. He was distracted by a small armada but managed to wave his hand. The serpents suddenly went for the kunoichi's back. Kakashi's interest was in the two teams she was defending as they took out his clones one by one.

"Kiba?"

Akamaru's bark made them look up. He hit the ground and bounced lightly on his feet. Kiba grabbed Ino's waste and put her on the beast. "I'll get you close."

"You'll keep me still." She wagged her finger as he hopped on behind her.

The animal launched off the ground, bounding across rocks and enemies. Ino blocked a few kunai as they landed in sight of the kunoichi. Her eyes were darting from side to side as she strained to feel where her attackers were. There were jagged rocks all around her, ready to sense a strike form the front, but Ino's spiritual energy wouldn't be stopped.

"Keep me steady." She released her grip on Akamaru's fur and put her hands into the sign of her clan's most famous jutsu. "_Shintenshin no Jutsu!_" Her eyes shut and her body slumped in Kiba's arms. Akamaru quickly leapt off the rock, retreating to protect the woman's limp form.

The little woman froze. The rocks came to a stop.

Kiba's voice came loud and clear. "Stop attacking!"

The little woman's hands clenched and unclenched. The rocks moved accordingly, as if breathing quietly. Ino was in control.

She looked around in the small body she had been jammed into. The Rock nin were watching her curiously.

"Why have you stopped?" One of them demanded.

The petite girl smiled sweetly. "Oh, I'm sorry."

She lifted her hand and slung it across. A rumble erupted around her and a whirlpool of stone began pulling in the shinobi that had once been her teammates. The twenty or so enemy nin watched in horror as their own secret weapon turned against them. The possessed girl twiddled her fingers and an earthquake knocked them back. TenTen's focus turned on the others and Kakashi's serpents pushed through the defense jutsu they cast.

Hinata rejoined Shino as his bugs returned to him. There was no need to assist now that Ino had control. Kiba landed beside his teammates and they watched Kakashi and Lee chase after the escaping nin. Neji's opponent fell and he quickly followed them.

"Way to go, Ino!" Kiba ruffled her soulless body's hair. He grinned proudly at its new frizzed and tangled appearance.

The little girl shouted from afar. "I don't know what you just did, Kiba, but if I come back and something is missing or wrong with me, I'll kill you." Her voice chimed unfamiliarly with Ino's aggressiveness and earned a laugh from her companions.

Ino removed the braces on the girl's legs and took a step. The jutsu ended immediately, the unsteady cave around her collapsed and she jumped away.

She walked to her companions in the body of the child and looked at the knotted blond hair Kiba was trying to straighten. Chouji waltzed to the dogs and picked up Ino's body.

She sighed a little angel's sigh, then growled. "Just forget it." It didn't sound half as menacing as she had hoped.

Kakashi returned with Lee soon enough and TenTen skidded down to Neji's side.

"That went well." Neji had a small smirk in place. TenTen bumped him and they exchanged smiles.

Kakashi dusted himself off. "They'll be back with friends."

Kiba's head snapped up and he sniffed. He looked behind them and chuckled. "Too bad." A familiar scent just blew past. "We may not get as much action this time around."

All of them turned to look as Shikamaru and Gaara approached. Behind them a few dozen shinobi stood armed for battle.

Shikamaru strode up to Kakashi and Neji. "I see you didn't really need help."

Kakashi shook his head. "With help we would have fished that much sooner."

"Coming from the man who is late to every occasion." Neji interjected. "We were lucky. It was an inexperienced group and they were taken by surprise. Their jutsu could have done some real damage. Had they been trained well, we might not have won without sacrifice." He looked around at the teams. "There was one with a strong blood limit. It looked easy, but it took a lot of trust and timing." Ino beamed from the little girl's body. Her innocent face stood out amongst the Sand and Fire nin.

Gaara approached the child. "This is her?"

"Yes." Ino meshed her fingers. "_Kai._" The little girl dropped to the ground and the kunoichi in Chouji's arms jerked. He put her down gingerly, keeping an arm around her just in case.

Ino's voice rejoined them, loud and mature. "What will you do with her?"

"It depends on the girl." Gaara motioned and a soldier picked her up. "We won't kill her unless she proves to be dangerous."

Shikamaru turned to Kakashi, his face serious. "Aren't you looking for Sakura and Naruto? Are they around here?"

"No. Their trail vanished. But if Naruto is trying to settle the Kyuubi, he'll no doubt come to the people causing the problem."

"Good luck to him when he gets here." Shikamaru gave an exasperated sigh. Kakashi lifted a silver eyebrow. "Ame is empty of most of the Akatsuki as well as the soldiers. The villagers have already been moved by our forces. We're just fighting the Rock nin now."

"I see… You said most?"

"Our scouts have seen a paper woman and a man with orange hair in their robes. They are in the center of the city. It looks that all of the remaining Rain nin escaped somehow. Mutiny is the only excuse we can think of."

Neji joined in, "Why haven't you attacked them yet?"

Gaara answered. "They have put up summoned beasts as defense. The Rock nin have interfered mostly. They may be inexperienced, but their numbers rival ours and reinforcements come very quickly." He looked at the battlefield for a split second. "We should probably move. More will be coming soon."

The new additions to the Konoha shinobi looked sullen. They suppressed their questions and followed the Kazekage to their makeshift post. Temari and a handful of others ran to their sides. A medic attended the wounded and others demanded information about the area they had fought at. Who was there? How many? Were there more coming? Standard procedure that each and every one of the Konoha nin were memorizing. Communication could make or break a victory.

The place was buzzing with commands and soldiers. They were all gathering. Hundreds of shinobi from both Wind and Fire stood in formation. It was a force to be reckoned with.

The Kazekage spoke. "We are preparing to attack." He explained briefly before turning to one of his awaiting officers. "Set aside nine squadrons to take out the Iwa nin. Prepare the rest in waves according to range and experience. Send in the elites first, then Jounin, then Chuunin. If they are not ready, they will stay behind and defend this position."

"What's going on?" Ino wobbled closer.

Gaara answered confidently. "We're going to storm the stronghold."

All eyes turned. Some were exhilarated, some were petrified. None of them knew what was waiting. The majority had only heard of the Akatsuki's powers in stories and by witnessing their own leader fall at the hands of a single man. Instinct ran deep in them, though not deep enough to make them run.

Gaara looked to the nine, Neji, Kakashi, and Ino in front. "We need you to lead the front in. You are the largest team we have. Your skills and knowledge of the Akatsuki will give us strength."

Kiba almost rolled his eyes. _Of course._ They were the cream of the crop, after all. Under the rim of his cloak, Shino couldn't help but grin. The bugs creeped on his skin excitedly. Hinata settled her thoughts. Her group had never fought the Akatsuki personally, but she knew they couldn't lose. Their team dynamics were unmatched. It was a fight that they could compete in. Neji, Lee, and TenTen stood close. Their energy surged as one. These friends and comrades their trust, and this team had their backs in return.

Chouji glanced at Ino. Her female form was shaking slightly. She was at a disadvantage here. Her gifts and reliance on teamwork had made her soft in other ways. She was reliant. She was attached. She wasn't ready. The shinobi looked at his best friend, the leader of Konoha's forces.

"Shikamaru…" Chouji strode up, placing his words next to the man's ear. "Ino shouldn't go."

His eyes widened. His mouth opened slightly in shock. "What's wrong?"

"She's not ready for war. She can't fight in this."

Shikamaru drew back his head and looked into his teammate's face. "Are you sure."

Chouji looked torn, but he knew he was right. "Ino's specialties won't favor the situation. She's a medic. Keep her busy here."

"What about you?" Concern laced his tone.

Chouji gave a squinting smile. "I'm a big boy, I can handle myself."

Shikamaru checked his eyes, moving back and forth between them. "If you're certain."

"I am."

He sighed. "How troublesome… I'm coming with you. I won't leave you to fight alone." He looked back at Gaara. "I'm headed to the front."

The red head's face lifted. "As am I. I will lead Suna's soldiers in."

"Let's show them how it's done." Temari gave a demented smirk.

Shikamaru and Gaara grasped hands and grinned. Something passed between the two.

"I'll see you in a bit."

Gaara nodded and vanished with the dozen or so waiting for him. He landed far off, high above his soldiers and his voice boomed over them. Shikamaru turned to his former team as the others became occupied with the usually soft spoken Kazekage.

Ino felt Shikamaru's gaze and looked. A twinge of fear hit her stomach. Something was wrong. Both Chouji and Shikamaru stepped toward her.

"Ino, I need you to stay behind and watch after the wounded."

Her face blanched. "Wh-What?"

"I know your style. You use stealth and trust. But in this situation, you are surrounded by people that don't know your ability. Even though you are on the same side, they might accidentally kill the person you are possessing. I can't risk you being in the front line."

The woman's jaw dropped. Her stomach churned sickly. Pain in her every blink, her every heartbeat. "You… y-you can't… I'm a part of this team… I'm a part of this fight… For Sakura! And Naruto! For Tsunade… You can't do this to me." Small tears started to form. "I want to fight."

Shikamaru's face turned cold. "You won't. Stay here. Help the people in need. You are still here for Naruto and Sakura, just not where we'll be bleeding…" He chuckled. As the sound hit his ears, he feeling a stone sink in his gut. Sadness, regret. Separation. "You will stay." He reached for her. She was frozen and couldn't jerk away as he put his arms around her. "Don't follow us," He pleaded as if reading her plan of action, "Stay here."

He took away his arms. Ino felt her legs shaking. They were leaving her. "Don't go…"

Chouji quickly embraced her as well, big and tight. He couldn't say any more. The next words they uttered would break her.

They both took steps back to see if she would move. She didn't. She stared at the ground, lost in though.

Shikamaru exhaled and breathed. "Please be safe." The two turned. "Bye, Ino."

She stood numbly as they became only dots in her peripheral. Other's came to her side, giving her directions to the med tent. She took steps, but she couldn't feel impact with the ground. All she could register was the feeling of their arms around her as they abandoned her. The sound of Tsunade's voice as her idol pushed her away. Sakura's letter as her best friend fled from her.

There was one strong memory. The last sight of one man. The last touch: cold hand, toneless voice, furrowed brow, pale skin, bitter eyes, and tight lips. The last moment when he broke her heart. When Sai broke her heart.

Turned away from. Abandoned, pushed, and broken. Her team, her idol, her friend, and him.

They all fell from her fingers once again and glinted light, burning her eyes with tears, and shattered like glass at her feet.

* * *

Sasuke rested on his back in the grass as Sakura paced back and forth impatiently. The sun was passing its peak in the sky, placing a thin coat of sweat on her face and neck. The heat wouldn't bother her if she were flying through the forest. But, instead, Sasuke was taking the opportunity to nap. His shadow eyes shut lightly.

The crunching of her feet on the grass woke him.

"The only reason we've stopped is to rest."

Sakura continued to pace. "Then rest."

"You're too loud, Sakura." He stared accusatively at the small beaten path she had created.

"Am I?" She stopped, staring down at his onyx eyes. Her head cast a shadow over his face and he squinted while looking up at her small, apologetic smile. He watched her walk around his head and sit beside him a few feet away. The shade covered her head, setting patterns of leaves across her chest and shoulders.

"I don't like waiting around. It makes me nervous."

He rolled his eyes. "More than you already are?"

Sakura grunted and turned her head. It was true that Sakura's hallucinations were becoming more regular. Whenever she took the night shift, she could start to panic and they would _both_ stay awake the whole night. Exhaustion slowed them down more than the naps did, so they compromised. Sakura didn't take the night shift and Sasuke got time to sleep in the day time.

Sakura wasn't too disappointed at this seemingly waste of time. Being lookout in the day had its perks. She got to watch Sasuke's sleeping face as much as she wanted and she could poke fun at him if he drooled or snored—which he had yet to do.

The kunoichi hummed mindlessly, and stretched. They were close to the clinic where Itachi was going to. Sasuke had filled her in on the details. The clinic was run by a wandering doctor. None of the Uchiha had met him except Itachi. Even thought Itachi had reported any valuable information about the old man, everything was kept secret for the safety his civilian status and only a few records speak of the location. It was close to Konoha, but far enough to be left alone.

Sasuke's eyes flickered open. Sakura rose as he did.

"Are you ready?"

She smiled. "Lead the way."

Sasuke and Sakura ran side by side into the forest. The density of trunks was the famous trademark of Fire Country. The trees acted like brothers, tied together by the same seeds, united by knotting roots. Their leaps were close together, often landing on the same branch. It was a strange feeling for Sakura. She had never been this in tune with Sasuke's movements. She felt like part of a squad again, like she had been with him for years instead of days.

He formed to her habits as well. It was subtle, but Sakura could tell. In his own way, he was conditioning Sakura so that she could hold her own and stay clear of him when he struck. The more familiar they were with one another, the more successful they would be. He had gradually accepted her. He said her name more casually now.

Sakura had found a friend in him again. Sasuke was capable of things more than battle and hate and revenge. Even if his face was controlled and unmoved, his words and his actions connected their little threads to her and acknowledged her.

…

Night fluttered in through clouds and the setting sun. The moon appeared out of nowhere in the blue turned black, big and yellow. Sakura's stomach grumbled. Soldier pills only took you so far.

"We'll stop for food in the next check point." He took the map that was sticking slightly out of her backpack and pointed to it in relation to the clinic. It was the closest town to it. Sakura followed his thought pattered easily. Sasuke wanted to check and see if a man was buying food for two additional mouths. "You should mask your hair. Hoods will be too conspicuous today."

Sakura nodded and chakra seeped to her skull, turning the short pink to a darker red. It was natural looking and took little chakra. Even if it drew the eye, it was better than peach pink.

Sasuke cast a simple Genjutsu, changing his skin tone and eye color. She watched the fabric of illusion cover him and turn his Sharingan to a peaceful honey brown.

Their control would give nothing away.

They walked close in the crowded streets. It had been wise to hide. There were shinobi everywhere. Their cold eyes gazed at the people, watching for suspicious folk like the pair waltzing right past.

Sasuke pulled her into the first place that smelt of cooking meat. It was a small bar. A waiter addressed them as they sat at the table furthest from any of the windows, closest to the kitchen door just in case a quick escape was necessary. Sasuke ordered for them both quickly, ushering away the waiter subtly. The shinobi waited until the man had gone through the swinging door before standing.

He leaned close to Sakura and muttered softly. "I'll be back."

Her face flushed for only a moment before he sped off to the other side of the room. His grace made him invisible. He pushed open the door labeled "man's room" just enough for Sakura to see the window in it. It was the perfect size to crawl out of.

Sasuke was going to investigate.

The kunoichi relaxed a little in the chair, leaning back on two legs and putting her head against the wall. Her sensitive hearing caught all of the clanks and bangs in the busy kitchen and she shut her eyes. She listened to the conversations going on around her. She could read the chakras of their bodies. Even if it was a civilian, their signatures were distinct.

There was movement in the kitchen and she opened her eyes. There were a few people staring at the kitchen entrance, hoping it was their meal. Her waiter stepped out and turned promptly to set down a pair of drinks and one large plate of an assortment of meat and vegetables. He gave her two small stacked plates so they could eat over them and she placed one before her. He smiled at Sakura and she waved him off, thanking him politely.

The food sat before her appetizingly. Sasuke wouldn't mind if she ate first would he? She took her tools in hand and prepared to feast. She would avoid his favorites and save them for when he returned. Everything else was hers for the taking. She grabbed the first bite, her favorite pork piece, and put it against her lips excitedly.

She chewed, savoring the details. The breading was crisp and the juices leaked across her tongue. A faint, foreign taste hit the roof of her mouth unexpectedly. She recognized it from somewhere. It had a very quiet tang that distracted her. Regardless, she swallowed a little. The juices were not hot and tasteful as she had wanted. Instead a chilling and slow trickle trailed down to her stomach. A little red flag was going off, though she didn't know why. Her throat instinctively closed up and she choked. The half chewed meat flew out of her mouth and onto the little plate. She gagged and whatever liquid was in her cleared her mouth of the flavor.

She stared at the pork, frozen. Quickly she looked around. The heads of the other customers were down, occupied by their normal tasting food.

What was wrong with her?

She poked the pork curiously, turning it over on the plate until she saw a small dark spot. Sakura peeled away the meat and stared at the small, empty pocket of air in the middle of the pork. She bent her head down and smelt it curiously. The scent matched the name of a drug floating in her head. That smell linked to the image of an anesthetic, colorless, that blends in with flavor.

Sakura caught herself. She leaned back in her chair. It couldn't be. Still, there was a lingering taste in her mouth mixed with the stomach acid that made her uncomfortable. The wary kunoichi grabbed her glass of water. She tossed the straw aside and took a big swig, careful to not swallow. She swished it around in her mouth and spat it back in, the flavor thoroughly washed out.

Her medic mode set in and she took a small packet of powder from one of the pouches on her side. She poured the white dust into her drink and stirred it with a chopstick. She waited patiently, looking for any change in the color of the liquid.

When nothing happened, she sighed and leaned back again. She had lost per appetite, but at least her crazed feelings were satisfied.

Sakura looked down at her plate again. The vomit and chunk of meat stared back menacingly. She quickly pushed it away, stacking her cup on top. She didn't want to be around when her waiter reappeared to explain that. The kunoichi stood and scanned over the table. The small packet she had emptied was still there. Once again, that wasn't the thing a person should leave around. A small amount of white something stuck in the cracks near a used straw might give the wrong impression.

She grabbed the paper and scattered the dust best she could, meanwhile catching a glimpse at the bottom of her glass. She could have sworn that there wasn't a blue print on the small porcelain she had spat up on. What was it, then, that tainted the coloring of her water?

She had gotten water. Clear, plain water.

Something tingled in her throat. It was still burning from her gagging upchuck.

Her body jerked and her hands reached out manically toward the glass. She stared at the bottom, her voice caught in her throat. Something was swirling between the ice cubes. The water had a thick layer of blue resting in the bottom of her glass. She hadn't seen it because of the dark color of the table.

Drugged.

The color blue suggested a fast acting agent. Direct questions like who and why escaped her. Her focus was on the liquid she had almost ingested. Had she kept eating, she would have gotten through at least four or five pieces before feeling the effects. It was meant to be undetectable and spread out. Passing out on the spot would get too much attention.

She checked her mouth with her tongue again. She hadn't swallowed in minutes, but her stomach felt numb. The tingling across her tone core was rising up her throat. Her tongue sunk sleepily in her mouth.

It was working.

The kunoichi looked around the room desperately. This corner was isolated, yes. If someone was looking for them, they were hidden from windows and witnesses. That's what made it dangerous. Witnesses. If she were to pass out, no one would notice.

Sakura stood. A cool water passed over her sides into her legs. The drug was in her blood. It was faint, but it was enough to slow her. She needed to be in the open.

She walked past the bar to the checkout. Sakura still had to wait for Sasuke just in case she became somnolent. She checked out, paid in full, and sat at the bar next to a passed out gentlemen, closest to the bathroom door which was still locked.

The bartender politely asked what she wanted and she responded instinctively. She had no intention of indulging, but the façade had to be kept. Moments later he put a glass beside her. She nearly laughed at the glass's pleasant appearance. It had a small mint leaf floating with the ice. Sakura spun the liquor in the cup habitually.

"Are you alone tonight, sweet pea?"

Of course. There was always one drunk to deal with.

When Sakura turned around to tell the guy to piss off, she was surprised to see it was a shinobi. His headband had on it the Konoha leaf. All of his hair was long and silver except for a thick strand of black here and there. One long clump covered his left eye effectively. Sakura's thought flickered to Kakashi. It's amazing what potential can be hidden behind a bit of hair. She prayed that he didn't have a special ability to see through the lies she was about to spill.

His breath held the faint scent of alcohol. What a wonderful soldier, drinking on the job. She hadn't seen him when entering the village. He must have been investigating a different bar; testing to see if the beer was good enough to drink.

"No, I'm not."

She started to stand when he placed his hand on the bar. Either she would have to push past, or she would sit and wait for the bartender to say something. Patience was somehow present in her and she sat. The bartender had gone in the back to retrieve more of something and would be back soon. There was no need to cause a scene.

The man scooted his arm closer, his drunken eyes dragging from one green one to the next. Then down her face, her neck, toward her chest. Her outfit was definitely not normal up close. If he saw her packs on her side, would he question her? Getting this close to a scout was definitely not what she had planned in the beginning.

"Quite a find. Out here alone." His voice was a little fuzzy. The drug was starting to target her senses.

She sat with her hands in her lap, covering the most obvious med pack. "I'm not alone." His own chakra was well masked, but something familiar was clawing obnoxiously at her consciousness. She thought about searching his chakra signature a little more, but the drug was disturbing her vision.

He tilted his head. "Looks to me like you are."

"He'll be back soon." Her tongue flicked lazily. The sound was sleepy.

"You shouldn't be with him if he left you." He laughed quietly. "Can't be trusted."

Her eyelids drooped. His face was losing the intoxicated look. He looked much more focused, more determined. His words were strangely familiar, but she couldn't place them, just like everything else about him.

"Don't fall asleep, now. Maybe you should go for a walk. Wake up your nerves."

She shook her head. Her elbow caught the bar before she could slip into a slouch. "Pass."

A sickly hand cupped her chin, lifting her falling head. Her arms were heavy. "Looks like you need some air." His body seemed unusually weak for a shinobi. "I'm a doctor, I should know."

"Is she alright?" The bartender had come back.

Sakura could feel an arm sliding around her torso. "Don't worry. She's never been good with liquor. I'll go ahead and take her home." She heard the jingle of change. "How much?"

"She hardly had a sip! It's on the house tonight." The burly man feet from saving her gave a booming laugh, "Can you carry her?"

"I'll manage."

Where was the stool? Where was the bar? She couldn't feel her feet dragging on the ground as this stranger helped her stand.

"What happened?" A new voice joined in. It was deep and harsh, filled with agitation. She knew _this_ voice as it passed through her dulled ears.

"I was just taking her for a walk. Is something wrong?"

"Yes." Two firm hands pulled her away from the clammy ones. His hand wrapped around her gently, holding her an inch off the floor. They were freezing, but they woke her up enough to see the shinobi staring back with a wide eye.

"Hey, buddy. I was just helping my—"

"Your _what._" They were moving. Sakura's eyes opened again and she looked around, terror sending a flash of awareness into her. They left the bar without a word. The bartended was yelling after him, worried for the young woman's safety.

Sasuke looked down at her and saw the glaze of intoxication. "Were you drinking?" He glared at her like he already knew the answer.

Sakura's mouth opened, but her voice was almost too slurred to comprehend. It made her shiver. Even if she had tried to call out for help with the other man, it would have sounded like wild ramblings. "There… was something in… the food." She fumbled for the pack of white. Somehow she couldn't find it.

He looked at her with a glare at first. It was just as intense as it would be when is iris were black or red. Then he waited for a better explanation.

"I tested it. Was in the pork… I choked… I threw it up. I couldn't see the… color until later… Too late. Took in some." Now more than ever she wished that she had taken a sample.

The kunoichi hung in his arms and he readjusted. She was fading fast. "Who?"

The perpetrator's image changed in her head: shinobi, bounty hunters, Akatsuki, Konoha… It could be anyone. They were very wanted people.

"I don't know…"

Sasuke considered it carefully. "If it were hunters they would have waited for both of us to eat. Why just one?"

"Don't know…"

Sakura wasn't even trying to walk anymore. Her arm around his shoulder was useless. She was worn out just from talking.

"Let's stop here."

Sauske sat her down softly then proceeded to check her medical pack. Before she could try to speak again, he was pouring a liquid in her mouth. It was hot on her tongue and woke up her throat as it went down.

She groaned happily and leaned forward into him. At first he stiffened. Then he bent forward to move her legs out of their cramped position. She fell further against his chest, curling in his arms, and he was pinned.

A little bit of relief settled in. He imagined the stranger's arm around her, hauling her to the door. He had made it just in time.

Sakura had been right. There was definitely someone tracking them. The man at the bar was evidence enough. He could have easily been from the Konoha ANBU sent after them by the Hokage. Or he could have just seen them in the village and was looking to gather the bounty.

The real inquiry Sasuke had was on the purpose. Why attack one? If the tracker had reinforcements, they could have gotten her out successfully. Working in teams was key to success. Even lowly hunters knew that. If it had been the government, Sasuke and Sakura would have been taken by force. It would have worked the same way with any other association. The only explanation was that this was a solo mission. But how and why? How did they get the drugs in the food then expect to get her out of the bar? Why just Sakura?

The young woman's head lulled back. He caught it before it fell off his chest. He cradled it for a moment. Her face was flushed. He paused, considering the unseen enemy that had discovered them. Then he put his arms under her and lifted her for a moment. She rested against his side as he removed his cloak and put it over her. He leaned her against the tree behind him and she still inclining toward him precariously. It looked like he would have to keep an eye on her, just in case she fell over again. Her head slowly fell and plopped on his shoulder. She muttered some gibberish that sounded like thanks. He smirked under the cover of nightfall and leaned his head back to look at the stars. It wasn't that cold anymore and a fire would only draw their tracker. Sakura moved a little, scooting closer so his shoulder wasn't stabbing her temple. He lowered his shoulder just enough for her to find a comfortable pocket. In minutes her light breathing evened out. He had a suspicious feeling in him that this would be the last night of relative peace.

Sasuke brushed her hair from her slightly open mouth. Her sleeping face was similar to her waking one, bright and caring. Only this one was a bit calmer and a little less fearful. He rested his hand on her leg. Her arm was half across her body and his entire side was touching some part of her. It was warm. Very warm.

_"Hey, buddy. I was just helping my—"_

His fabricated appearance changed with Genjutsu released like the flick of a switch.

_"Your _what_."_

His black eyes pierced the memory.

He had hesitated to interfere at first when he walked through that door. He saw the man talk casually about her. At first he imagined that it might be a friend of hers from Konoa. He imagined that she had been in that situation before with her companions back home. She had a life of her own. She had memories he wasn't aware of. He had only been a part of her life for a few months. She had lived outside of that happily. She knew many people. They touched her casually. They spoke to her kindly. They watched over her with compassion.

He had hesitated, but never again. She was there with him by choice. He was the only one she needed to affiliate with. This was the path she had taken. As long as she was set on this road, he wouldn't falter to protect its frailty and brevity.

* * *

"Get some water over here!" Two heavy set men were hauling a smoldering branch away from the flames. The fire was finally being contained. The work effort had reached further into the forest where a large crater was still fresh. It hadn't had the power of the first, but the innumerable explosions set fire to everything. If left alone, it was bound to spread. Why were these explosives gathered here? The line of bombs was long. Some were still going off, the unfortunate soul that found them rarely survived.

The sound of creaking wood tore through the group. There were dozens attending the flames.

"Look out, it's gonna fall!"

A large, blazing tree leaned precariously to the side and the snaps and cracks warned those aroundF. It was quickly extinguished. One tree at a time, one at a time and the forest could be saved.

Miles down the line of devastation a middle-aged woman moved an extinguished branch from the fire's reach. They were clearing one of the quieter areas. The work was important to prevent spread, but it was less dangerous. This mine had gone off two days before. The main fire had already gone out It was their job to clean up the rest. Her son had a shovel, throwing piles of ash onto the smoldering wood. Trails of sweat cleared away the gray on his face.

He stopped for a moment to shake out his gloves when he noticed something flutter in the breeze. He leaned in closer, but the soot was obstructing his view. He took the shovel and dragged it out from under the wood.

It was a thick black fabric. It was frayed and burnt, but not from the fire. He had felt enough material to know that this was fire proof. He turned it in his hands, realizing it was inside out and started to correct it. A faint noise startled him and the boy looked around for a potential tree falling. He had heard _something_.

The boy stood with the fabric over his arm. "Hey mom, you over here?" She called out in response, but it wasn't from the direction he was expecting. There was something else here.

He quickly took up the shovel and walked to where it had come from and started clearing. The fire had already gone out here but some trees had knocked over by the explosion. He looked at the cloth again.

"Mom, I think someone may be around here."

"What?" Her voice answered faintly. She couldn't hear. He gave up trying to reach her and started kicking around in the soot. Maybe there would be a sign.

He kicked something hard, a log under the layers of debris. He brushed away the soot with his hand. It was another crater. He looked under it. He couldn't see clearly, but something told him to go deeper. He gripped the cloth in his hands as he ran back to the shovel.

His mother was standing by it, worry on her face. She was panting a little. "Did I hear you calling earlier? I thought you were hurt."

"No, I think I found something." He handed her the fabric and took the shovel.

"We have to work on the embers."

"I think there's someone here." He ran to the hole again and started jabbing under the closest trunk. He pushed it away and used it for leverage on the others. Soon enough he could walk down in the hole. He dragged back the soot and lifted the shovel high. There were a few thin braches he could easily rip through with its hard edge. He brought it down solidly; the metal glinted in the hazy light.

He struck something soft and a pained grunt rose from the shadows. The boy gasped and dropped the shovel.

"Shit!" The boy dove into the ash, feeling for whatever he had just stabbed. Sure enough, there was a body there. He started pulling. "Mom, there's a person here!"

His mother squatted at the rim of the crater and shouted down, "What?"

The boy pulled harder. It was an arm. A head emerged from the soot, coughing and choking. The survivor shook and clouds of gray flew into the air.

"Fucking hit me with a shovel!"

"What?" The woman slid down to them and helped her boy pull the deranged man out. "Did he say shovel?"

"I don't know. I don't know what he said." He put the man's arm around his shoulder. "Help me." His mother quickly did the same and they carried him out of the crater.

The man murmured curse words as they helped him. He kicked the soot in a tantrum and it went flying into their faces.

The mother wasn't gentle when she put him down. "What's your problem? We just saved you—Oh, my God, you're bleeding." Her hands shot out to his side. He yelped loudly as she stuck her hands onto his freshly opened gut. He was lucky that the boy had hit his ribs. Any lower and some real damage could have been done on his organs.

The survivor glared at the boy, "Yeah, I'm bleeding." The boy cringed. "I was just starting to get comfortable in that little hole when your kid found me." Something over the brat's arm caught his attention. The lining of the black fabric had red in it. The survivor coughed uncomfortably.

The woman's hands glided over the burns covering him. Large chunks of skin, shriveled by explosions. He couldn't move his leg even if he wanted to. He could still feel it, but the muscles had been distorted, moving it was impossible. The bleeding had already stopped in those places, leaving black trails across his body.

He adjusted as the woman stepped back. It was clear that she had no idea what she was doing. She stood helplessly to the side. The man could have laughed. If he died, it would be because of this woman's negligence. Luckily he could tell it wasn't as serious as it looked. His side was the biggest worry. The boy hit him hard, even though the branches slowed down the impact. He'd stop bleeding soon enough.

"What happened to you?"

He put a hand to his oozing wound. The ash was making the blood thick. "Don't know. I was wandering for a while before I set off that bomb. I got out of the fire, but the trees fell on me. Got pinned."

The woman was uncomfortable. "Wh-what were you doing here?" That was the sign that she would soon turn her suspicions on him. Women were predictable. "Why were you out here? Did you start the bombs?"

_Did I start them?_ "I was taking a walk. You gonna castrate me for it?" The man sighed. "The explosions started going off. Monstrous plumes of smoke, shooting through the air like fireworks. It sounded like hell was rising to cover the Earth." A ghostly smile lifted his features. "I got out. I got out…"

The woman shuffled her feet, embarrassed. "We better get you to town."

_You think?_

The boy wrapped his arm around the survivor's shoulder again and began dragging him away to who knows where.

"They kept going off. Everywhere. I just started walking. I just walked. Through fire. Just started walking." He hacked and waves of gray fell off his head. His skin was pale, his hair was matted with the soot. He mumbled to himself. "It was sad. The form was terrible. No coordination. Only a few got me. Half of them weren't even close. The timing… The timing was off." He shuttered as pain moved through his side. "Stupid kid…"

"You're going to be alright now."

The black fabric was hanging next to his hand and the man brushed it with disgust on his face. He turned the hem over and took in the red cloud staring back at him. If he put it on, the holes in the fabric would match perfectly with his newly forming scars.

The ghostly smile reached his blue eyes. "Stupid kid…"

The mother was speaking into a walkie-talkie. "We've found a survivor. He's hurt bad. He has burns all over a-and a big cut on his side."

"…hit me with a shovel."

"He was trapped under the aftermath of the explosion we were taking care of. He doesn't know how long he's been here. H-he set off the mine two days ago and claims he was walking around when the first explosions were going off. He's dehydrated. It's clear he hasn't eaten in a while. Possibly delusional."

Maybe she _had_ been paying attention.

A fuzzy voice responded. "He might be one of the missing villagers. Can you give a physical description?"

The woman went to her boy and the limp man hanging off him. She brushed away the soot from his face and lifted his eyelid. He rolled his eyes as he opened them wider. Then she started hitting his head—_What a gentle bunch of people…_—to knock away the ash and see hair color.

"M-male. Blue eyes, long blond hair. He's wearing black. Nothing special."

The survivor almost laughed as he gripped his hands. The two little mouths bared their teeth.

_Nothing special_.

What a twisted world it was.

* * *

Nut

Poor Ino. She wanted in on the action too! She'll fight, don't worry. I'm so excited, it's ridiculous. I have to be honest with you all, I don't like writing fight scenes with this many people. It's just really hard to keep interest. I really like one-on-one. Small fights are a lot of fun to write.

DEIDARA!

…

That's all I have to say…

Thanks for reading!

Next Chapter—Awareness: Exposure (I'm splitting what would have been chapter 5 in two)

…

All our knowledge merely helps us to die a more painful death than animals that know nothing.

_Maurice Maeterlinck_


	5. Awareness: Exposure

Playlist: Mad World (Michael Andrews), Let Go (Frou Frou), No Games (Breaking Benjamin), Everything's Not Lost (Coldplay), and Swing Life Away (Rise Against)

* * *

All our knowledge merely helps us to die a more painful death than animals that know nothing.

_Maurice Maeterlinck_

* * *

…

Awareness: Exposure

…

* * *

The night was thick with cold. The frost on their legs tingled as they ran. Naruto was near the end of his stamina for one day.

"We have to stop."

Itachi went on. He didn't even look back at the tired shinobi. The moon was crawling into the wee hours of the morning, high in the sky, ready to fade into the sunrise blue.

Naruto's eyes drooped. His thoughts were clouded.

"The Kyuubi was born free."

Itachi's voice was thin, like a dream.

"It had a home. It had a life in peace, long before the Uchiha or any true clan gathered. It was a time of peace between humans."

The bijuu inside Naruto curled uncomfortably. Nostalgia flooded Naruto's mouth and he croaked.

"_We never fought one another. It was when the Hachibi started seeking power that our lives were ruined. From Yamata no Orochi, war was born._"

Naruto's sleepy mind snapped awake. His jaw twitched and the Kyuubi relinquished his grasp over the shinobi's voice.

Itachi continued. He wasn't at all startled by this additional comment.

"The Hachibi challenged the Kyuubi and failed. After fleeing it sought to outdo the other bijuu. Sides were taken. Battles were won and lost. When the Kyuubi saw battle, it was drawn in instinctively. The fight for the alpha of the planet began. From these titanic wars the human's fashioned their hate and need for power. That's when jutsu were created to subdue the beasts. One family rose above the rest after generations and generations of change and evolution. It was the Uchiha."

Naruto watched the moonlit silhouette of Itachi as he slowed to a stop. Suddenly a large object blocked the light. They stood in the shadow of a giant building.

"We're here."

The two shinobi walked into a deserted city. There were buildings, ranging from three to six stories high around them. All of them were barricaded. In the center was the structure that clouded out the light. It's dome vaguely mimicked the Hokage's office.

"This was the Uchiha's first village. Before we joined Konoha and the soon to be First Hokage. We perfected our jutsu here, fashioned after our greatest idol…" The Uchiha pushed open the front doors to reveal a statue in the center of the room. It was a twisting snake with heads that sprouted out of the ground like wild vines. Eight faces, staring in all of the directions, winding and mingling with each other's spines. At first Naruto couldn't understand. Then he looked down at the ground where they came from. On the pedestal where the statue was raised there were three black tomoe burned into the ground with black flames connecting the deadly cycle.

"Yamata no Orochi…"

Naruto took a step forward but the Kyuubi's chakra flared violently and pushed him back. Pain shot through his body and he fell to the floor. The blond cried out, grasping at his sides, afraid he'd be ripped apart by the rage. Itachi grabbed Naruto's face and the minute those blue crystalline met the Sharingan, he crumpled. The thin slit that was his pupil widened to its normal shape.

"Get a hold of yourself. The Hachibi isn't here."

Naruto's mouth opened. "_…Yet._"

The Jinchuuriki grabbed his jaw and held it closed. "Stop! Stop it!" Pain shook his soul. It torched his skin.

The Kyuubi was suddenly aware of itself and the damage it was causing. It could sense Naruto's last defenses were at their breaking point. The Sharingan had shoved him behind the gates, but its desire to smash that abominable statue of what ruined its existence, what destroyed peace, was undoing its reason.

"Naruto." Itachi's voice froze time. The waves of agony ceased. "You have believed that you and the Kyuubi are separate entities. But the lines have blurred. The Kyuubi has become a part of you. Your strength, your mistakes, your triumphs are all shared. You are fighting with a part of yourself."

"NO!" Naruto wailed, gripping his scalp. "I am not a demon!"

"No, you are not. You are Uzumaki Naruto. Whether you are a demon or not is entirely up to you."

His nails dug in. His blood boiled in the air, threatening to shred his skin. The Kyuubi was losing control.

"You have the opportunity to remove the world's reason for war. You have, before you, the means to release all of the bijuu, all of the hate and resentment into the air." The Kyuubi slammed into the gate. Naruto's eyes rolled back. "You have the option to save humanity before we destroy ourselves. Nature has a balance." The gates swelled. "The instinctual drive in all of the bijuu has been disrupted by ego." The Kyuubi's eyes leaked a desperate insanity. Desperate to stop. Desperate to escape. Desperate to disappear. Desperate to be free. To not be obliterated. To not be hated. To live. "You have a chance to change the rules. You can make the choice to reverse this spiral downward." The hollow eyes of the statue observed the writhing Jinchuuriki. They were not menacing or smug. They were just eyes. They just watched. They felt nothing.

Naruto was forced to look at the gate. Before, it seemed like thousands of voices had been screaming at him. But before the gates, it was quite. There was only one small voice whispering in the space. Fearful, one voice was begging for the war to stop. Naruto could feel the nature, the cool grass, the trees, the life, the wild pleading from within the gates. Rooted to the earth, connected to its pain, the Kyuubi was curled back, hoping that the insanity of instinct would lessen and not lash out.

The Jinchuuriki walked toward the doors, placing his hand on the bars. They burned under his fingers, but he was not afraid. The Kyuubi 's voice brought back the memories Naruto had seen of the shrine. The Kyuubi had been a god of the land. What had made it a demon? What had made it so vengeful and destructive? Was the Kyuubi and different from Itachi? Or Sasuke? They had been so warped by their surroundings, my hate, but was it possible to return? Could someone who had spent their life killing find their peace? Could someone who had worked for someone as twisted as Orochimaru and find kindness in them and recover their soul from darkness?

Through the eyes of those serpents, the Kyuubi looked no different from Naruto.

"You have the power to reshape everything."

Naruto's muscles sagged. His fingers fell away from his head. A little trickle of blood touched his mouth. The cut sealed up instantly. His blue eyes were clear of suffering. They were open, at peace. The connection had been made.

"_What should I do…_" Naruto's voice was caught between the scraping bass and innocent tenor. "_How do I change? Where is my power?_"

Itachi stepped away from the boy and walked behind the statue. A flame lit in his hand and danced there like a child's laugh. "Come with me."

Naruto laxly rose. His pure eyes moved slowly over the image of his enemy. Ego drove the bijuu to seek the top of the pecking order. It drove them mad. This serpent was suddenly a very sad thing to look at. What a pitiful creature. Beings believe that they exist in two realms: Instinct and Reason. But there is a middle ground between human and monster. There is honesty. There is reality and illusion in one. Perspective. A struggle that never ends and never begins. Endless cycles of answers and questions. There is truth. Unbiased, undefined, limitless truth.

Through the doors, Naruto watched the light dance across Itachi's dark brown eyes. They started walking. The flame illuminated drawings on the wall. They told the stories of the bijuu and of the origins of the Uchiha. The origins of war and despair.

"I am dying, Naruto." The bags under his eyes deepened. "My time is up."

The Jinchuuriki didn't react. He pondered, he listened. He read the walls, absorbing all of the past he could. The Kyuubi knew most of these tales. That reminiscence clawed at Naruto's throat like a sad whine.

"I will make a bargain with you…" The two in one waited. "I will present to you the Hachibi. You may do with it what you will as long as the container lives."

"_In return?_"

"Go to Ame and help your people."

Naruto was baffled. That didn't sound like much of a trade. Did Itachi know something Naruto didn't? "_Why?_"

"Does it matter? If you can do that, I will be satisfied. When this place becomes your battleground, I will be dead. Then your real task will begin."

Naruto wanted to ask for a different answer, but the Kyuubi was caught on Itachi's words.

It ground its teeth. "_It will happen _here_?_"

Itachi nodded. "The crow you swallowed—" Naruto searched within him where it rested. It's red eyes were wide open. "—will know when I have finished. It will tell you when to come."

The Jinchuuriki shook his head. "_Is that the trade?_

"Yes. I am asking more from you than you think." Itachi gave a coughing laugh. His lip twitched into a smirk. "You must create what I have never witnessed. You must protect my brother, your friends, your teachers, your comrades, your enemies, and all of humanity from their own darkness. You must teach them to see their fears through."

The more Naruto listened, the more he realized how similar they were. He was touching on something that he would have never guessed he would agree with. The Kyuubi inside of him wasn't trying to, but it was becoming more and more subtle, falling into the back on his mind. The Kyuubi's claws were bleeding into the walls. They meshed with Naruto's seal. It wasn't busting at the seams, it was merging with him within the cage. Though the door was closed, they were uniting just a fraction.

"They all have their demons. What kills is what keeps them apart. It is all a matter of resistance." The little twitch in Itachi's lips pulled apart, his eyes squinted and he smiled. "You will save humanity from itself and give me peace."

Itachi had a sincere smile. A real smile, one of the few remaining that had been locked away for safe keeping. A stained soul and cracked face cleansed by the tug of lips, the purest form of happiness.

"Give me peace."

He opened the last door and beams of white flooded the hall. The moon consumed the sky with its gleam. The grass looked blue silver as the blades swayed in the breeze and the small fire went out.

"Search inside of yourself. I have seen your prison and I have seen your key. Unlock the gate and you will live on to fulfill our promise. You must release the Kyuubi to defeat the Hachibi. Do what you must. Do not falter. If you fail, Uchiha Madara will destroy everything."

Naruto walked out and looked into the starry sky. His stomach fluttered. What was waiting for him in Ame? Something told him to seek the answer.

"_Why me?_" Naruto's youthful doubt leaked through the united voices.

"I'm not sure. It's just who you are. There is one soul that is the plug. Whether or not he pushes past his own endeavors will determine the Hachibi's fate. You are the only one capable of saving this one soul. _You_ chose _him_." Itachi shrugged lightly, more like a twitch than a planned movement. His hands rested against his sides. His eyes were fogged by gratitude and wonder. He looked like a child. "You chose him over everything else. For that I must thank you:" He chuckled freely. "Thank you, Uzumaki Naruto, and goodbye."

The blond shinobi glanced back at him before taing a step forward. Naruto and th Kyuubi inhaled deeply. Curiosity and wrry was rising in him. What waited for them in Rain? The darkness inside of him was turning over. It had a softer belly; it had soothing hands that mirrored his fleshy palms. Why had he ever feared himself? What was there to hate?

What was "real" may never unite within himself, but what was "true"… had never been separate.

One had found wisdom.

…

However, there was still a fool remaining. He stood, watching the world from the highest point he could, imagining that he was a being fallen far from salvation.

Itachi watched his last hope vanish under the cover of trees and jumped, scaling the wall to the roof of the massive structure. He stood like a specter hovering above ancient memories and sorrow. A soul lost in a time of war and hate, dreaming of peace and of heaven. No, not even heaven, just a middle ground. From that distorted path he had been thrust upon, he sought a place between where he could live.

The moon was his last companion, his last friend and his last enemy. The only one with the patience to stay, the only one who couldn't get away. Itachi's face was pale in the light. Half alive and half gone.

A ghost.

An illusion of what was empty and of hopes that had died.

A soul, lost on the road of life.

* * *

Jiraiya's shaking hand brushed one of his shoulders. The toad Sages listened to his failing words.

"It is time for you to go… My last me-message… must be—…sent. This news must not die with me…" They detatched from him. His last life line, the natural chakra, was severed and death came as a cold chill across his body. It would be soon.

The Sages felt Pain's chakra fluctuate above. They had been found.

"Jiraiya…"

His last smile was smeared with blood. His eyes squinted. Resolved, calmed, he couldn't feel the ache anymore.

"Run."

…

_The rain pounded on his face. Long white hair dampened by the downpour._

_"Sensei. It's been too long."_

_His wrinkled hands clenched his knees as he leaned into the opening. The towers mingled with the sky. It was the highest part of the city. West of the center._

_"I thought you were dead, Konan."_

_Across the space was a woman clad in a black cloak covered in red clouds. Her exotic blue hair was covered by the overhang. She was well protected, deliberately avoiding the rain._

_"I died in a sense…" She put out her arms. "But I was reborn again to serve him."_

_The last giant drop hit his eyelid and in a blink the rain had stopped._

_A fluttering of paper echoed against his ears and suddenly a storm of white was flying at him. Jiraiya dodged to his best ability but felt piece by piece attaching to him. Soon enough his legs were encased and he couldn't move a muscle._

_He watched the woman's dainty face form in the paper, blue gradually inking the page._

_"I must kill you." Her eyes widened with intensity. "It is the will of God."_

_A spear formed above his chest and she stabbed him through the heart._

_There was a poof and the paper collapsed on itself, and then a light hissing._

_Konan drew back the paper in an instant to reveal a small ball of scribbles. A small fire was coating it and a massive chakra time bomb set off._

…

Shadow figures gathered on that small island. The water surrounding them was swelling with the falling rain. The Pains hovered over Jiraiya's fallen body. He could hardly move and his voice was dying swiftly. They watched as he uttered his last words.

…

_Jiraiya's shoulder was burning. The mark where he had been speared churned. It felt like he was being sucked inside out. The two toads on his shoulders stared at him, terrified. Would he die? Would he live? Jiraiya, one of the great Sannin, was losing!?_

_"Why…?" He begged. His aged eyes pleaded with his former student. "What are you after? Is it power?"_

_Pain's head cocked to the side. "Power… I already have that. I gained much from what I have suffered. The Akatsuki are formed out of the strongest, the rejected, the hated. The pained. I chose them for my uses. They have fought and died for my cause—our cause. The bijuu are a vessel into a new world. They have helped me with my dream of the future. A new beginning. A fresh start where all are exposed to pain. It will unite the nations and create a new world. As God, I will lead them to a new age."_

_Jiraiya stood. "Rebirth through destruction? Is that what you dreamed?" He hung his head. "I wish I had known…" Slowly he put his hands into a seal. "Maybe I could have stopped all of this madness and killed you then and there."_

…

"It is futile… Nagato…" He coughed. Blood splattered across the ground, mixing with the gentle rise and fall of the water. "You cannot begin anew."

"God's judgment is inevitable ." Their voices clashed in their different pitches and tonality.

Jiraiya wanted to shake his head. He gurgled more blood. "You can try… but… humans… even when gi-given the chance—" His stomach clenched and unclenched, forcing his diaphragm to move, pulling and pushing air into his lungs. "…a clean slate. We will only," The tingling in his arms was slowly consuming his body, leaving only his heart. It longed to sleep forever. "We will only repeat our mistakes…"

The leader of the Rennegan wielders stepped forward, leaning close. Jiraiya's senses were escaping him. "One as unholy as you can never comprehend the workings of God."

The Sannin was fading. The light was falling from his eyes.

_You are wrong._

His voice didn't reach their ears. Only in his mind could he speak now. Pain gave his old teacher one last glance. The Rock, Wind, and Fire invaders had been waiting long enough. A new world was about to be born.

_Beginning again will never save anyone._

Orochimaru's face rose in Jiraiya's mind. Tsunade. Himself. He remembered his team that had long since shattered. He thought about his attempts to save Naruto from the same fate. He thought about the new beginnings he had offered, the thought about all of the different paths Naruto could take that he had never been exposed to. Instead, he had said:

"_I never go back on my word."_

To never turn away. To never look back. To never regret.

The world was forever turning. A never ending cycle that repeated every step, every triumph, every error that ever existed. The universe was trapped in the idea that change would occur if things were redone. If you walked backward you will follow a different road. If you returned to the past you can change the future.

_The answer isn't to push away…_

_It is to push forward._

Strength in the face of defeat. Perseverance in the face of obstruction. Hope in the face of catastrophe. To acknowledge the obstacle wasn't enough. Exposure could easily become a ring of endless calamity. But to see through it… to see something beyond the end. To see something beyond what awaited those dreaming of walking off the given path…

Jiraiya had failed to see past his own faults, his own grievances. He had pinned his own weakness on a soul that could never be tainted. It was a soul whose innocence tore through the darkest despair.

Naruto.

Not only him. The students, his friends, these children had seen the horror and walked into the fire.

They were the new miracle of humanity…

Change.

The blaze of hellfire could not reach them.

Jiraiya felt his body roll to a seated position. His legs moved on their own, driven by something long since buried. Hope.

The bushy white hair fluttered in the breeze. Streaks of crimson stained it. His bones were broken, his heart had died. He could breath no more. He could no longer taste the air, the grass, the trees. His home. He couldn't see the clouds or the sun. Blind. In his mind there was an irrevocable bliss. A paradise. A knowing. Yes, he had felt pain. Yes, his knowledge had lead to his death. But wasn't it worth it? Even if it was painful, wasn't life worth living?

He could move, just for this moment.

His precious people—their faces—were the last images he could conjure as he fell back, smacking the water, and sinking deep into the blue.

Sinking into dreams he had long forgotten.

Into voidand_ perfection._

The last step…

Into light.

* * *

Shino skidded across the concrete wall, his insect companions covered his arm, pulling him into the air. He flew for a moment, between buildings. Coming at him were three Iwa nin. Their eyes, bloodthirsty. Their target, underestimated.

The shinobi threw his arm out. They were enveloped in the buzzing cloud. Shino was freefalling for a moment, his foot touched the bugs and somehow they supported him as he jumped the rest of the way. Behind him, three half devoured corpses fell in the opposite direction. Shino touched the sill of a boarded window with a chakra laced hand and he stuck hard.

His shaded eyes looked a dozen stories below. His teammates were managing well. The bugs rejoined him, grabbing his arm again, ready to shield.

He pressed his mic, "The roofs are clear in section 9."

There was static. The storm was interfering with communication as well as his insects' full potential, luckily for any enemy he came across.

Shikamaru responded. "Thanks, Shino. Team Gai, clear the path. We're almost to the center."

"Use the Byakugan. Check the buildings. Speak up if there's anything out of the ordinary." Kakashi chimed in. His acute paranoia was serving them well. No accidents and no causalities as of yet.

Neji and Hinata didn't need to confirm before getting to work. The buildings hadn't been entered. It was clear that the Iwa troops didn't want to risk setting off potential booby-traps the Ame nin had left behind.

The front pushed forward. They were almost close to where the Akatuski was holding out. It was only a matter of time.

Gaara and his sibling were leading a few streets over. Their teams monitored nervously. Something was going on. Why hadn't the Iwa attacked? Gaara placed a hand to his face. Sand from the gourd on his back accumulated and solidified into a small eye. It whizzed off into the overcast. The rain had stopped almost half an hour ago very abruptly..

His eye scanned far and wide. What was going on? Something in the back of his head was telling him to be cautious.

Then he saw it.

Just past the next wall of buildings, the layer before they reached the Akatsuki stronghold, a sea of blood and dust spread far. Rubble, metal, and life were pressed into the ground as if impacted by a meteor.

"It can't be…"

Temari's head snapped to the side. Her eyes widened as her brother's face became bleak. "What is it?"

"The Akatsuki have obliterated the Iwa armada."

At the same moment, Shikamaru and his teams were stumbling upon the devastation. A thick chakra presence weighed down their footfalls. The crater covered the entire core of the city. Shikamaru could spot a body or two, crushed by rock. The others were completely submerged. There were no cries for help. There were no clattering weapons. There were no survivors.

"Ah…" A voice boomed above them all. The Konoha shinobi gazed up to see a lone man wearing his cloak. "You have arrived."

He stood, head tilted ever so slightly. Behind him, five more cloaked in red stepped into the light drizzle.

Neji looked at their bodies with his scrutinizing glare, his Byakugan activated. "These guys are a set. They're connected somehow… The chakra is very strange…"

Kakashi looked at the rim of rubble. The Konoha squads were stationed, ready to ambush whatever awaited them at the Akatsuki's stronghold. They had never imagined something like this. "The Akatsuki are nothing like anything you've ever faced. Their skills transcend what we imagine is possibly. Be ready for anything."

There was a buzz on their channel. It was Gaara. "There are more Iwa on the way. This was their reinforcements. When they didn't receive confirmation of their arrival, they assumed the worst…" Kakashi stared at the massacre sadly, _As they should…_ "They are coming with two or three hundred Jounin and elites."

Those listening understood. The people they had been fighting so far were the greenhorns. The new meat. Made to test the competition.

Kakashi's eyes widened. "Sent the forces back. If they stay, they will get in the way."

"What are you suggesting, Hatake Kakashi?" Neji's voice was agitated. The older shinobi looked to his left where the Hyuuga and his team were stationed at the convergence of another street, ready for battle. The soldiers behind him were all jumpy, heads jerking from side to side. They were not prepared for this.

"There are enough of us to deal with these guys. If Iwa strikes, we need brute force to cover our backs."

At that moment, Explosions of white smoke filled the crater. Out of the clouds, four summonings charged out into the streets. Fire and Wind's troops that had just come into sight of the clearing were met by the rampage of beasts.

The Konoha elite and the Kazekage leapt onto the nearby buildings. Behind them, some were trampled and tossed with a swing of their claws, but most followed suit, going above to where they were better protected.

Kakashi's eyes didn't avert from their opponents. The Akatsuki were poised. They were all going to go at once.

He lifted his headband and his Sharingan glowed. Suddenly his eye twinged. There was something wrong.

Shikamaru was the one to point it out. "Where's the woman?"

The strange pressure on them all increased for a moment. Pain was speaking. "It is time for the world to be punished. I wish Jiraiya-sensei was alive to see as I reshaped the Earth."

A wave of shock hit the Konoha shinobi.

Chouji's soft eyes were wide with fear. "What did he say?"

Kakashi's mouth dropped. He had been told Jiraiya was off on a mission in Rain. The Sannin was the one to tell them what had gotten them this far. Kakashi had no idea Jiraiya had even some here. He hadn't known Jiraiya had engaged them. He had? When? Why? From the look on the man's face, he knew it was true. Jiraiya was dead and a war was left in their hands.

It began.

A rain of white knives struck the forces gathering to the north of their location. The blue haired woman had returned. The paper blades sliced through rows and rows of awaiting shinobi effortlessly. Then they hit a wall of black. Shino's insects were on her now.

Kakashi watched with his all seeing eye as the bugs consumed the paper and chakra. The woman's face was distorted. She was suffering as well?

She _was_ the paper.

Shino used his simplest techniques, afraid of getting the others behind him involved. Kakashi was right; they would only get in the way. Gaara and Shikamaru couldn't deny it any longer.

Two leaders were already communicating with the heads of the Konoha and Winds troops. They were moving back. It was in their hands now.

The dense air changed again. The retreating shinobi took it as a sign to move faster. They were right to. The six Akatsuki were jumping.

The remaining few looked at one another. Gaara and his sister, Shikamaru and Chouji, Team Gai, Team Kurenai, and Kakashi. They were all that stood to face them.

* * *

Naruto's feet flickered. He couldn't be fast enough. It would take at least three days to get to Rain. It wasn't soon enough.

What was going on in Rain? What was happening to "his people"? It didn't make sense. There was no reason for them to be in Ame. Naruto tore thorugh his head, searching for the slightest clue, a memory he had locked away or thrown out. There was nothing.

The Kyuubi was uncurling in his gut. The Jinchuuriki hardly noticed. It wasn't his concern at the moment.

_I can help you_, it said.

Naruto's ears perked. He looked inside himself as the demon's chakra spread to his toes. He was going faster already. It didn't burn him. It didn't feel wrong as it had before. It was just there.

_You've flown before._

The blond clenched and released his hand. It was flooding his muscles, making endless energy to use. Naruto tried to accept more, but there was a barrier. The gates didn't budge. Naruto stared at them, wondering. Were they even a part of him? They were the most foreign things there.

_I cannot open it._ The Kyuubi pushed against it and Naruto cringed. The skin on his stomach burned. The seal on his belly seemed to come to life, sucking all of the Kyuubi's energy inside and leaving a searing pain in his veins where it had been flowing freely.

The seal was destroying him.

Naruto could feel it now. There was a sensation in his mind saying that something was dying. Was it the Kyuubi? Was it the seal? Or… was it himself. The burning made him slow to a stop.

The forest around him was coming to life. No more snow. No more ice. He could see the buds starting to open, covering the branches with small sprouts of green. The first leaves of the year.

His eyes unfocused. Naruto had to go inside as Itachi had. See what he saw. He needed the key.

…

_Naruto stood in emptiness. His hands stretched out, seeking assistance, seeking the walls of that dark corridor that lead to the Kyuubi's cage. He closed his eyes, expecting the colors to remain the same. Instead, as he stared at the inside of his eyelid, a kaleidoscope of color spun. It formed shapes and walls. It was the memories of someone else. Too young to be the Kyuubi's, too old to be Naruto's._

_A small house, filled with things that made Naruto's heart clench. He had never entered this house, but he felt at home. There were photographs of people he knew. He saw a young man with his sensei. His sensei was a white haired man with a giant smile cracking his face. Another frame held a squadron of children with their own teacher. The same man from before stood over three students. In the middle was a little girl. Her sweet smile was tender and caring. To the right was a pouting boy. His eyes were hidden behind a big pair of goggles. It almost made Naruto laugh. He had once done the same thing. This kid wore them well. His glare and pudgy lip was directed at the boy on the far left. Standing proudly was a silver haired boy with a mask over the lower half of his face. Their eyes met across the photo. Filled with anger and rivalry. But also something neither of them recognized. Naruto didn't even have to try to see what that was._

_Respect, trust, friendship, and joy. Even if they didn't see it themselves, hidden far below the surface was a longing to be together. A longing to stand side by side and see who was taller, but also just to be closer. A longing to push and shove, but also to lean into one another. They were forced to shake hands after a fight and they fought it to the end, but on the inside, they wanted to make a small promise: I will protect you._

_Naruto had seen this photo before. It sat above Kakashi's bed. It was of his old team. The sensei was to become the Fourth Hokage. He knew that face because every day Naruto looked at the head carved on Konoha's mountain face and vowed to make it up there one day._

_But this house was empty. The occupant had long since died, hadn't he?_

_"You don't understand! You will die if you don't stop now!" Voices traveled into the room._

_"Get off of me!" A boisterous, raging female responded. "This is _my _child! I won't let him die! You _have_ to help save him!"_

_The response sent chills down Naruto's spine. "The other doctors are leaving. We have to get to the battlefield. There are so many injured…"_

_"Are you just going to _leave_ me here!?"_

_"…Your husband will—"_

_"Ha! You are, aren't you? You're leaving me here to die!"_

_"I c-can't help you… I've never done this before…"_

_Naruto was too occupied by the words to notice the room dissolving into another around him. He was in a tent. Something was rumbling in the distance._

_"It's coming this way… I-I don't want to die."_

_The woman's laugh was loud and dangerous, but desperate. "If I could stand, I would kill you… I can't believe it."_

_"I'm sorry."_

_Just as the figures became clear to him, the medic vanished out to tent's opening. On the gurney was a young woman with big blue eyes and long dark hair. Her face was round and beautiful. Her hands were gripping the mattress and her eyes stared down. Her stomach was huge._

_The medic had abandoned a pregnant woman._

_"Please…" She begged. No one was there to hear. "Please don't let him die…"_

_She winced. Naruto could tell something was wrong. She wasn't going to survive._

_One hand released the gurney and she caressed her stomach. Hot tears formed in her eyes. Her prideful disposition rejected them fully, but still they came. She whimpered quietly, eyebrows scrunched together._

_Then she screamed, "He can't die! Please! Save him!"_

_In her other hand she held a small kunai. It was shaped differently than what Naruto expected. One of the edges curved back and there was a seal wrapped around the handle. She gripped it against the sheets, ripping them slightly. It was filling with the remainder of her chakra._

_The image was fading. He didn't want to look, but he could see her stomach heave. He could see he eyes start to die. Her consciousness had slipped away, but she was still trying._

_The memories transformed._

_A screech dragged across the wall of his thoughts. It was a cry he was very familiar to. It was the Kyuubi._

_Suddenly he knew what day it was._

_A monumental beast crouched over hundreds of soldiers as they tried to fend it off from their precious village. The monster's eyes were just as Naruto had become accustomed too, except for one small detail. There were three shadow tomoe floating in the iris. Madara's work had already been done._

_Behind the monster a loud croak also triggered his own memories. It was Gamabunta. On his head, he knew who stood there. The Fourth was fighting with all of his might._

_"He can't die! Please! Save him!"_

_The plea hit the Hokage like a punch in the face. The voice had come from his pocket. His hand went to his side where he pulled out a kunai, identical to the one the woman had been holding. He gripped it silently. They had made a promise. If the kunai burned, the worst was coming._

_"We can't hold it off forever!" Gamabunta__bellowed. His large arms were blocking one of the many fiery tails whipping around in the air, setting fire to the forest._

_The Hokage nodded, gripping the kunai tighter and tighter. It was like a hot iron. He knew what he had to do. It was the only way to finish this and he knew he was the only one capable. He had to seal the beast. And if what the kunai in his hand conveyed was right, he knew what vessel to use._

_"Gamabunta…" He put the kunai back and put his hands together. "This is going to happen fast. I'm not sure I can control it. I have to know that you'll do exactly what I say."_

_"I'm with you, kid."_

_The young man smiled. This was the end. "It's time for you to leave here."_

_The toad hesitated. Then nodded sadly. In a white cloud, he vanished._

_The Hokage floated for a moment. His joined hands started to glow. The God of Death hovered behind him, holding him in the balance as the Kyuubi's wild eyes turned on him. In a flash of white, all of it disappeared._

_Naruto stared at a blank world for a few moments before suddenly being thrown back into the small tent where the woman was dying._

_There was rapid breathing. A light pant that didn't match the woman's stillness._

_Her hand, the one wrapped around her husband's kunai, slacked and the weapon dropped to the floor. Just before it landed on the sterilizing sheet, it glinted. Then from it, a man appeared._

_He slouched in the shadow of the room. He was shaking violently. His eyes darted from one corner to the other. Something inside of him was about to get out. The Kyuubi pushed against the weak confines of his body. Without containment, it would soon rip apart this poor man's body and escape once more._

_The man walked to the side of the gurney and met his wife's lifeless eyes. He looked at her stomach. It had caved in slightly. The skin hung on her limply. At the end of the gurney, still connected to his mother by a bloody cord, was a newborn infant._

_His eyes were firmly shut. His hair, almost invisible because of the blond color, was matted down. His small hands reached out, gripping at nothing. His little legs kicked desperately. He wanted to live._

_It was not like the man had suspected. But, all the same. He knew what he must do._

_The Hokage picked up the little boy gingerly. The umbilical cord tugged a little and the baby jerked. He hadn't cried yet. His little face was scrunched up like he was about to start wailing but, just like his mother, he refused to._

_The new father placed his hand on his son's stomach, the cord between his ring and middle fingers. He muttered some words, the last jutsu he would cast, and a roaring river of chakra was injected into the infant._

_His mouth opened and he screamed. The chakra never stopped. The father watched as his own baby struggled to escape. The umbilical cord was on fire and started to crumble from the mother. It reached the baby in seconds as the last of the Kyuubi's body was forced inside. Then the connection was severed. The Hokage's fingers closed over the baby's stomach and his crying stopped._

_The tiny red face looked startled and confused. His eyes had opened. He looked around and eventually up to his father. His eyes were the brightest blue the Fourth had seen._

_"I'm sorry." The Hokage looked at the table where doctors would have cleaned him and sat the wide eyed baby down. The man's hand didn't let go of his son's stomach. The infant immediately reached out, longing to be held again. Little did he know, no one would ever hold him as tenderly again. Something had been put inside of him that would change everything._

_"I'm sorry."_

_The Hokage said a jumble of more words and slowly took away his hand._

"_I love you…"_

_A swirl of black stained the baby's skin and sunk in. The man's body jerked and he toppled._

"…_Naruto."_

_His wailing was the only sound in the world. No one cheered when the Kyuubi vanished. No one knew what had happened. No one understood what sacrifice had been made. The hundreds of shinobi looked around at each other in wondering. What had happened? Where was their Hokage?_

_In that tent, the greatest Hokage of their time and his beautiful and strong young wife waited for someone to find their child. They waited for someone to save the baby they had both saved and damned._

_Naruto stood over the baby through the memory._

_The newborn looked around. Where had his father gone?_

_His lip quivered and he began to cry._

_Then it sunk back into darkness._

_Naruto had found the corridor. The Kyuubi's cage stood tall in front of him. At first it was as he had first found it. The walls were solid and sturdy. The bars were perfect, impenetrable. The edges of the gate were seamless against the walls and floor. The Kyuubi was slinking far in the back, afraid to try and reach seal was white, the lightest part of the room._

_Then it changed into what Naruto knew it was. The walls had cracks in them. The bars were bent and rusted. There were wide gaps between the gate and the walls and floor. The floor had ripples made in it where the chakra had melted it and pushed it away. The Kyuubi's fingers rested in the gaps, leaking chakra and memories into Naruto's mind. The skin around the energy was stretched tight, just like in the beginning. But the flesh was tired. It was about to break. The seal was ripping. It was old yellow paper that looked like its edges were burned. The writing on it was barely legible._

_This was the last wall to push through._

_Naruto stepped toward the gate. The Kyuubi didn't move. It was trying its best to contain its power. The Jinchuuriki reached for the seal. His thoughts clear. Both sides were ready. His hands contacted the paper and a voice rocked their world._

_"Don't touch it!" It echoed madly._

_"You can't remove it."_

_"You'll die!"_

_"Please!"_

_"Don't touch it!"_

_"Don't let it control you!"_

_"I won't let you die…"_

_"You can't!"_

_Naruto grabbed his head, his eyes closed. His body was on fire. The Kyuubi's fingers curled. It's red fur trembled subtly. The seal was speaking to him now!?_

_Naruto stood tall again. He could feel the metal heating up._

_He put his hand against the seal. "I have to."_

_"You don't understand!"_

_"It's a monster."_

_"It'll kill you!"_

_"Don't let it escape!"_

_Naruto kept his hand on the paper. He recognized the voice now. It was much more frantic than he had seen in the dream, but it was the same. The blond held onto the door, waiting. It would come out soon._

_"It is time." Naruto opened his eyes._

_There was nothing. No response._

_The shinobi started to peel it away._

_"NO!!"_

_He was thrown and skidded on his back. His hand was on fire. When he looked up, there was a figure standing before the gate. The Kyuubi growled, but his anger was only making the situation worse. This rage tore at Naruto's body again. The bijuu restrained itself and pulled its claws back in, not that it made much difference._

_The figure had blond hair. At first Naruto thought it was an apparition created in his image but, after seeing the lean face, he knew it couldn't be. That face belonged to the Fourth Hokage._

_Naruto got to his feet and stared the man down. There was a strange elation and anxiousness at seeing the man's face. It was very different from looking at a memory._

_"Hello, Naruto." His lip twitched. He wanted to smile, but the seriousness of his appearance prevented it._

_Naruto didn't even try. He grinned stupidly at the dead Hokage._

_"Do you know why I'm here?"_

_The Jinchuuriki smiled. "Yep. Do you know why _I'm _here?"_

_The Hokage frowned._

_Naruto kept smiling. "I have to release the Kyuubi."_

_The man shook his head violently, taking Naruto's shoulders in his hands. "No, you don't. I don't know what it bargained with you, but you don't have to do anything. You have a strength in you besides the Kyuubi. You don't need this demon to be powerful!"_

_The blond sighed, removing the Hokage's hands. "I'm not doing this for power. You should understand what the Kyuubi is doing to me. You had it inside of you once, for that brief time. Do you remember having all of that energy stuffed inside of you?"_

_The Fourth's body fuzzed like bad reception on a television. "I-…" His voice jerked and skipped. "I-I remember."_

_"It is killing me. Unintentionally. The Kyuubi is slowly expanding and has started to kill me. I can't get my own power this way."_

_The Hokage shook his head. "You don't know what it can do… what it will do to you if you release it."_

_"Neither do you!" Naruto gave a small laugh. "You had it in you, but you were trying to keep it back. You understood that if you let go just a little bit it would take over and get out. It's not the same with me. We have become something different. We are one and the same."_

_"Lies. You are two. You are Uzumaki Naruto and it is the Nine Tailed Beast."_

_The Jinchuuriki took a step. The Hokage staggered back. "Not anymore."_

_"Stop!" The man held up his hands again._

_Naruto stepped closer. The hands passed through him. He wasn't surprised. Just like the memory, he and the Hokage were of different worlds. "Please…" The blond whispered. "Please believe in me."_

_The man was shaking his head slowly._

_"Then why did you give me the Kyuubi?"_

_He couldn't answer._

Did you want me to die?

Did you think it would kill the Kyuubi if I didn't survive?

Would you have killed me yourself?

_He considered throwing some of his dangerous thoughts at the Fourth, but Naruto didn't want that. _

_"Regardless of your intent, you have left this in my hands." Naruto took another half step, going a little further into the man's arms. "I will keep my promises to everyone. I won't let the Kyuubi control me, I won't abandon the people who need me, I won't lose to Madara, I won't watch as the world around me falls apart."_

_The Hokage's body was fading in and out. A static in the air bit Naruto's ears. "You're desperate. You don't know what you're about to do—"_

_"Yes!" Naruto shouted. His smile had long since vanished. "Yes, I do. I am young, but I have aged. Believe in me!"_

_The Hokage stepped back. He looked over the boy's face. He wasn't much of a boy anymore._

_"Naruto…" For a moment the body of the Fourth completely shut off. Naruto could feel he was still there, the seal was still alive, but it was losing motivation._

_The shinobi walked forward. A cold wind passed over him as he passed through where the Hokage had stood. He approached the gate, hands at his side. Something inside of him told him to wait. The Kyuubi knew it too. This wasn't something they should rush. Naruto's memories of his life were coming back. It seemed random, but the blond knew that this might not work. He might die. Those last fears were reemerging as if called out by the Hokage._

_The voice came from everywhere. "Are you so sure it won't kill you? What makes you so certain?"_

_Naruto smiled. It was a smile every shinobi knew. The last one. The last smile before death. For some it revealed all of the unfulfilled wishes and last minute regrets. Naruto's was still as pure. The same as if he were laughing at one of Kakashi's perverted jokes._

_"I don't know if I'll live." He shrugged. "But that's okay. I don't have to be certain."_

_The Fourth's voice crackled loudly. "You don't know!? What if it doesn't work? What if the Kyuubi is released? What if you break your promises."_

_"Is that what you thought just before you did the seal?" Naruto looked behind him. There stood the Hokage, his head in his hands, gripping his head. "Are you afraid for me or for yourself? Are you so afraid of failing that you'll never try? What made you try then? What made you use the seal even though you weren't sure it would work?"_

_The image flickered. Streaks of black tried to erase him. He opened his mouth but no words came out._

_"Did you do it because you wanted to protect someone? You wanted to protect your village, your friends, your wife, your unborn child? You didn't know what it would do, but you did it anyway. Why is that?"_

_His mouth clamped shut. "I don't know." The voice emitted from the walls of the corridor. "I don't know."_

_"You wanted it to work. You believed it would." Naruto smiled, turning from the Hokage. "I've always wanted to be you. To be a Hokage as great as you. As a leader, you knew what to do. What made you great was your compassion. You trusted the man beside you." Naruto stared at the seal. "I know why you're here… You don't want to lose anyone else." There was a small stutter behind him, but Naruto continued. "Neither do I. I want this to work. I want to keep on living. So…" He placed his hand on the crumpled seal. "Father," His voice caught a little. The word was strange in his mouth, but it made his grin widen. "Please believe in me."_

_The gate melted into black. The paper stuck in his hands and the Fourth Hokage stood before him for the last time._

_Naruto held the paper before him, fixed to the spot. The Hokage took the other end of it and looked at Naruto with a squinting smile._

_"I guess I can't protect you anymore, can I?" Naruto couldn't respond. His father tugged a little at the paper. "You've grown into a good man, Naruto. I know…" Always the hesitation. The Hokage sighed and his smile regained its exuberance. "I know I believe in you."_

_The Hokage gripped the paper. His hand was shaking along with the energy of the illusion. He was dissolving around the edges. Naruto could almost see through his clenched fingers._

_"This is the end."_

_Naruto held on a little tighter. "No…" He didn't want to let go yet. Still, he gave his best smile. "It's just another step."_

_The paper tore in half._

_Naruto's feet hit the floor of the corridor solidly and he watched the gate fling open. He was startled, thinking the doors would hit him, but they disintegrated as they swung. The floor rippled like water under him. It was being blown away. Naruto didn't feel it at all. He wasn't floating, mesmerized by the Kyuubi's invincibility and potent chakra. He was grounded. He didn't need a clear goal. The Kyuubi didn't have to ask for what he wanted. It just fell together._

_Naruto stared at the giant beast stepping calmly out of its lifelong prison. It stood tall as the walls of the hall lost their purpose._

_"_That feels much better_."_

_The Jinchuuriki took in a deep breath. A weight he hadn't known existed melded into nothingness. The constant pain was gone, filling his body with relief._

_"_Are you ready, kid?_"_

Naruto's eyes opened on the outside. He looked around with crystal blue absorbing every detail of his skin. It almost glowed. Healthy, strong. His bones felt like iron. He had no concept of what the Kyuubi had done to him over the years. But after all of that extra gravity was lifted, he realized how much he had adapted. He felt light as air and bounced on his heels.

The Kyuubi's chakra was just there. He could feel his own, unsuppressed and replenished, waiting on the sidelines. It was a beacon he would use at another time. The Kyuubi had unfinished business. The promise he had made to the bijuu seemed years old, but he would hold to it. If they killed the Hachibi, the Kyuubi would go in peace. Little did they know, when they promised, how difficult would be to get this far…

The red chakra seeped out of his skin as it burned off. His blood flowed over it soothingly. It didn't hurt as it had in the past. There was no pain at all.

Five tails formed and Naruto crouched. It wasn't menacing. It was determined. He lifted a hand as it formed into a clawed paw. When he put it down it launched him into the air.

Instead of days, he would be arriving in Rain in minutes.

* * *

The sound of panting was the only thing giving away this group of elite ninja. Wrapped tightly in Shizune's arms was a manila folder. The ANBU flanking her couldn't help but glance at it on occasion. That folder had been hidden deep within the archives Root, kept very secret. It had taken time, but they had found it. That folder was the key.

They were closing in on Tsunade's hiding place. Shizune's heart was racing. _You have to see… You have to see it…_ Her eyes burned at the thought of the contents. This one folder had in it bitter, violent desires and greed fueled by the blood of many innocent as well as guilty. Shizune already knew the number. The event was well known, but the cause had been completely redefined in her memories.

She had to focus. Her ANBU guards were preparing to fight.

"There are quite a few here."

Shizune looked at the folder. _Should we run?_ They were all thinking it. "Can we take them?"

The shinobi beside her clicked his tongue. "Definitely."

How long would it take for help to come to the Root nin about to be slaughtered? Shizune smiled grimly. Long enough.

Another ANBU fell next to her. "Shizune-san, go in as soon as you have the chance. We'll cover you until you can get that to Tsunade."

"What about the copy?"

The shinobi nodded. "It's on its way to Suna as we speak."

"Good." A small knot in her stomach loosened. "Let's go."

In seconds, the Root patrolling Tsunade's position were thrown into confusion as the ANBU used smoke bombs all around the building. They ran in blind, depending on their other senses to catch their pray. It was still quite a battle under the cover of smoke. Both ANBU and Root were trained to fighting even with one of their major senses out of commission.

Shizune ran to the door. When she opened it an explosive tag flared and she was knocked away. Shizune hit the ground hard. The first thing she registered was the pain in her leg, She was bleeding. When she tried to stand she couldn't.

Her heart was pounding in her ears. She had to deliver the folder.

"Help!" She didn't care who heard. She knew the ANBU were faster.

Sure enough, one of her protectors scooped her up. She started thrashing when he took her out of the smoke.

"Stop it! Get the folder! The folder!"

He dropped her almost instantly and the folder was gone. The figure vanished in the cloud. Their cover was settling. Soon escape would be impossible.

Shizune tried standing. She limped a few feet before collapsing. Shrapnel from the door must have stabbed a tendon. Her hand turned green and she started to heal. She wouldn't live long if she couldn't run. A piece of wood slowly pushed its way past her torn skin and clothing and dropped onto the ground. While still healing she ate a handful of blood clotting soldier pills.

Even as the clash of metal filled her ears, all she could think about was that manila folder and prayed that it reached Tsunade.

…

Tsunade watched from her window as it filled with smoke. They had come back? She gritted her teeth. That was not part of the plan. Then her heart jumped. That meant they had found something. It had to be big if they were risking this much to come back. But why? Root could get them now. They were outnumbered here. At least on the outside they could get help from Suna.

There was a loud bang from the floor below. The trap had been triggered. Tsunade had set that up to prevent any Root from entering. What if one of her own shinobi were harmed? She had never imagined a rescue. And now…

Seconds of silence passed. The ANBU and Root were not like the average shinobi. They didn't cry out or yell at their adversaries. They were all stealth.

There was one scream that shook her. It was Shizune. Had something happened? Was she hurt? Why has she called out? That would only draw attention. Her head was buzzing. Tsunade had to get out there. She had to help.

As she ran to the door of the room there were footsteps on the stairs. She stuck to the wall just beyond the opening, prepared with a kunai and a chakra coated fist.

The doorknob clicked. "Tsunade-sama!"

The Hokage stopped mid-punch and grabbed the shinobi, yanking them inside.

"What are you doing back!? Why didn't you run?"

"Shizune-san… said you had to see this." The breathless soldier shoved the folder into her chest and it slid down.

Tsunade grabbed it before it fell. Her eyes found scanned the cover. It had warnings and "classified" stamped all over it. It was thick. Paperclips and photos were sticking out of it slightly.

"You have to get this out of here. I don't need to see it."

"A copy has already been sent to the Kazekage."

Tsunade looked at the messenger, startled.

"We came back for _you_, Tsunade-sama."

She couldn't believe it.

"But we have to leave now."

She nodded. The two ran out of the apartment. Tsunade's hand was filled with dangerous chakra once more.

The smoke had almost settled completely. It didn't matter, however. The enemy forces had been subdued. For now.

Tsunade rushed out seeking Shizune. She found her almost instantly in the arms of another soldier. She started running toward her when she heard:

"There they are!"

Tsunade looked up. There were twenty shinobi coming through the streets. They were already casting justu before the ANBU could react. Tsunade's run came to a small walk as the area was once again consumed by battle. She found Shizune and her aid on the outskirts. Three shinobi had singled them out.

Adrenaline and rage swam in her veins and her fist slammed into the earth. The earthquake made the three look around stupidly. Then the wave of rubble rose up and ensnared them all. The few Root near it were also trapped and sucked down.

Shizune's head twisted on her shoulders, straining to see the woman who had saved her life. But the shinobi carrying her was already running.

The ANBU that had given her the folder was beside her as soon as she pulled her hand out of the ground.

"We have to go. There are more coming."

Tsunade looked around her. All of the ANBU she had first sent out were still there. The twenty Root were wounded and some dead, but it was all quick work. They couldn't afford to waste time with technique.

Tsunade followed her saviors. The folder in her hands was suddenly very heavy. They already had a copy sent to Suna. They didn't have to worry about it. It would take a few days, but it was safe. The Kazekage would help Konoha and get rid of Danzou.

Days. No, weeks. Tsunade had already forced a war upon them. They didn't have the manpower to take down a country and save another.

What could she do?

The ANBU surrounding her were gradually passing. At first she thought it was because they were speeding up. That wasn't so. She was slowing down.

Tsunade knew what she must do.

She had to use this folder _now_. She had to stop Danzou with all her being. She had the means. She could do it.

There was a party of Root catching up to them.

She could evade Root. Hiding in her own village wouldn't be too difficult. Danzou was a sneaky rat, but he didn't know the entire village. Even he had limits on where he could go. The Hokage's power gave Tsunade the advantage.

Tsunade looked at her ANBU. This was it. She still hadn't managed to say anything to Shizune. Now that she actually wanted to say it. Now that her pride could stomach a heartfelt goodbye, Shizune was out of reach.

"Thank you…"

The ANBU's heads all turned.

"But I have to stay."

She could run around in her prison for a while longer if it meant bringing down Danzou. The folder was practically burning against her chest.

"I'll see you soon."

She lagged back right into the coming shinobi.

Her chakra enhanced fist slammed into the nearest building and it folded in half, taking their enemies down with it.

Tsunade disappeared in the dust.

…

Her fingers glided across the label she had not yet looked at. She bit her nail nervously.

Finally she forced herself to bring it within the candle's light.

Her eyes widened and her breath stopped.

It read:

_Uchiha Clan._

* * *

Just letting you know… I have no religious views in this. My references to God and such are purely fictional. Pain's a twisted suhnbich with a twisted suhnbich mind. That is all. No bashin' God.

Lots of things are happening! Ohoho, I'm very excited! Naruto and Itachi have split (poor Itachi. I love him so much.) and our cute little blond has talked to his papa! It's the complete inverse of what happened in the manga! Yeah, fan fictions! I felt like an evil person for writing that whole: abandoning baby Naruto part.

Uchiha Clan… best cliffy ever! Jiraiya has died, Pain is a bad ass, and Tsunade is in deep shit…

Ohoho… It's amazing how much can happen in a few chapters. (What has happened?) In the next three chapters there will be so many big changes! You have no idea…

I decided to split this chapter up into two parts. You think it's big now… Ohoho, you should have seen it before. It was around… 16,000 words? That's pretty big. This one is still pretty big… 10,240 words.

I hope you noticed that the quotes for these two chapters were from the same person… I'm such a nerd. (Ohoho. For some reason I'm doing that a lot lately.)

Next Chapter – Awareness: Response

…

"They believe that nothing will happen because they closed their doors."

_Maurice Maeterlinck_


	6. Awareness: Response

This chapter is much longer than I had anticipated… There is a lot of information without dialogue. You have no idea how important it is in the long run. Many, many things are about to be uncovered.

In other words… I'm about to (pardon my French) totally fuck up the Naruto manga plot line! Be prepared… It's not OOC or anything. It's just… different. I'm having fun, you know? It's a stretch, but that's what fan fictions are for!

I recently added some new pics to my DeviantArt account. Most of it is SasuSaku stuff and I'm fairly proud of them. Check them out of you're up to it! (If you all are concerned by the lack of SasuSaku, don't worry. I have not yet begun to indulge in their relationship. There is so much stuff on the way!)

Playlist: _Part 1_ - Polyamorous (Breaking Benjamin), In Between (Linkin Park). _Part 2_ - Say a Lot (Buddy), I Want None of This (Radiohead). _Part 3_ - The Wreckoning (Boomkat).

* * *

They believe that nothing will happen because they closed their doors.

_Maurice Maeterlinck_

* * *

…

Awareness: Response

…

* * *

Tsunade sat in the dark. She was chewing on her nail again. Her breathing was shallow. Even though she was perfectly safe in this little corner of Konoha, she sat very still.

What she had read in that file… It was incomprehensible. And what she learned about Danzou… It fit. It fit perfectly. She couldn't believe it. She was too late. He had already won. Konoha crumbled before his feet in a day and now he had everything.

She had to alert as many as she could. She had to tell the council.

Danzou had been planning to kill the Uchiha from the beginning. His perfect tool in victory was Uchiha Itachi. The boy's attachment to Konoha as well as Uchiha made him the soldier of Danzou's dreams. Itachi could infiltrate the Uchiha for Konoha and spy on them for Danzou's purposes.

Through Itachi he learned of his own abilities and the clan's strength. It was only then that there were _two_ within the current clan that stood above the rest. Two brothers had a particular potential Danzou sought to obtain.

This was too much competition for Danzou. But removing these two was no enough. To extinguish the imminent danger that might be bred into their ranks, killing all of the bloodline was the only way.

His opportunity arose when the Uchiha started their plans for a coup d'état.

Once he had substantial evidence against them, it was easy to sway the council. Their consent to the Uchiha's demise should have completely eradicated any threat to his identity and his goals.

It was an identity that Tsunade could have never imagined.

Within that file was the entire history of the Uchiha, from top to bottom. All of it was centered around the life of the one and only, Uchiha Madara. He was the first true leader of the Uchiha Clan, the one to make peace with the First Hokage, then later attack Konoha. It was an infamous history that was well known by all of Konoha. The formation of the Valley of the End was a tale often told. But what wasn't know by the public was the story behind the man. Tsunade had known vaguely about the treachery Madara committed toward his brother and when he was exiled from the clan… But there were years, decades, where Madara had gone off the map.

These lost years were all there. After banished from Konoha, Madara sought out a method of revenge. While in hiding, Madara captured many allies in the Water Country. He created a seat of power within Water that equaled to that of Mizukage. But, before he decided to take total control, he used his power and spent his time seeking out the king of bijuu, the Kyuubi. What better revenge could there be? With the Kyuubi under his control, he could wipe out the Hokage that banished him and take back his proper place as leader.

He scourged the earth for the demon, widening his knowledge about jutsu and the many secrets of the Sharingan he had feared to explore. There were tales from long ago of how man could command the bijuu. The secrets were all written down. It was a hazardous thing. In essence, to control that amount of raw chakra, the user's soul had to merge with the beast, uniting temporarily. This concept was one of the simplest forms of Genjutsu. When casting an illusion, the user is basically projecting a piece of his soul onto his victim, controlling the person's perception and their chakra. This made Madara curious. Merging with something as powerful as the Kyuubi was exhausting and dangerous. The bijuu's power would only allow the control to last for a short while. On weaker bijuu, however, control was easier. Summonings, lesser bijuu, many things could bemanipulated easily. But these are all of a different level of chakra. They is one being with a weaker connection to their chakra that takes education to even become aware of. Madara came to a very forbidden conclusion. What would happen if tried on an even weaker subject? Say, a human.

Madara experimented for years, testing how far a Genjutsu could go. Uniting with souls that were strong and capable, using their bodies for his own purposes. Madara could remain undiscovered while using puppets to search for him.

The process was much less taxing than controlling the Kyuubi. Human's were often easier when confronted first. Getting consent of the body was the easiest way, even if it was less common. Madara made use of dozens of puppets from different countries, gathering jutsu with his all seeing eye.

While at the border of Rain and Iwa, one of his vessels ran across a body he had never thought of possessing. It was a young boy. Half of him had been crushed by an Iwa attack and he was hanging on by a thread. He was broken and dying, but this body held more potential for him than he could have ever fathomed. The boy's exposed side was not damaged except for his eye. It had been removed. The other, however… A hatchling Sharingan lay before him, filled with the life that Madara needed to reach his immortal dreams.

All of Madara's years of experience merging with humans had come down to that one moment when he reversed the process. Madara used his Sharingan to remove the soul of one boy and force it into his consciousness. He was poisoned by the child's memory of pain and death and subjecting the right side of his body to the aftereffects of such horrifying reality. The consequences were dire. He could no longer use his right arm and days after merging, it rotted off entirely. But that eye. The remaining eye that had been protected by the cover of rubble had been saved. Its power combined with Madara's aged Sharingan and the man was reborn.

When he awoke, his body had rejuvenated. Madara had been using other vessels to protect his own from the effects of time. As long as it was sealed safely away, time did nothing to him. His life was protected by the Sharingan and the justu that split his soul so many before him had used to cast meager Genjutsu. But even life lengthening jutsu had their effect. His Sharingan was not compatible with the shinobi he used. It didn't take long for his bloodline to reject the unworthy container. His mind was strained and his soul was growing weaker while trying to keep everything under his hand. But this young Sharingan perfected his jutsu. He now had the strength to return to Konoha and begin his final plot.

Upon returning to Konoha, he created an identity that quickly assumed a high rank in Konoha. The Hokage's over the ages had naturally feared this man and they were right to. This one man controlled the largest undercover agency in Konoha's history since the Uchiha clan had been subdued. In fact, that was Madara's only remaining obstacle. The Uchiha were sitting on the key to his power.

Using his position on Konoha, he effortlessly manipulated the Konoha's council and ordered their spy, Uchiha Itachi, to kill his own family.

That desire to kill the Uchiha, in Tsunade's eyes, had belonged to two people. But after reading this file, she realized how wrong she had been. Taking over Konoha had been the dream of Madara since its birth. Overcoming the Hokages had been Danzou's intention from the start. That's why he formed Root. That's why Danzou slid casually into the role, never really landing on the map until after Uchiha Obito was reported dead. That's why his left hand always held a cane and his right eye was always covered.

Underneath those bandages was a crimson eye that never slept.

The Sharingan. It was the bloodline that fought against the First. It was the ability to hide from the world for decades. It was the gift that controlled the Kyuubi, not once, but twice. It was the curse that haunted Konoha. The third remaining survivor of the Uchiha Massacre…

The Uchiha Clan.

That's what the file read.

The first pictures in the file had been pinned together with a rusted clip. They were dated seventy, then fifty, then twenty years ago. All had the same identity and the same face.

Danzou's narrow eyes, and Madara's cursed name.

The woman sat the file down. Her eyes searched aimlessly in the dark, trying to absorb all she had read without bursting out in a terrified fit of laughter.

She had read the entire file. All of the missions associating with the Uchiha, all of the assassination attempts on the Hokage, secret dealings with the Akatsuki. This thick file held all of the secret crimes Danzou had committed. As Uchiha Madara, he gathered missing nin, he even recruited some into Root, erasing their memories and manipulating their jutsu for his own benefit, he formed the Akatsuki. There were lists and lists of names. The section on his own history only covered a fraction of the atrocities in this manila folder.

Tsunade couldn't believe some of the things there. Konoha's previous addition to the Akatsuki's forces—Orochimaru—was mentioned numerous times in missions. There were missions to eliminate the ANBU attempting to assassinate Orochimaru. The majority of which had been assigned after he had _left_ the Akatsuki. Why? Orochimaru had turned traitor to Madara. Why keep him alive?

There was one mission that caught her eye. She had known well that Danzou had tried to kill Uchiha Sasuke, covering his real reasons by saying no missing nin should be spared their judgment.

But now the meaning of that action had become much more important.

Uchiha Sasuke.

Madara was aiming for one of the remaining Uchiha. But Sasuke was under the protection of his ever diligent teammates and village. Tsunade kept away a fatal sentence and made Madara's goal unattainable. But why didn't he go for the man that was already wanted dead? Itachi would have been an easier target. That answer was clear enough. Itachi was within the Akatsuki organization. His life must hold some purpose Tsunade was not certain of on. _That _information had been deliberately left out of the file. There seemed to be even darker secrets than this.

It was disturbing. Madara had had this much control for so long. It was amazing that he hadn't taken over Konoha before. Then again, he didn't have to lift a finger. Since Tsunade went ahead and split the village, the council crawled into their ignorant holes. Konoha was already dead. Madara didn't even have to try.

Uchiha Madara now had the man power necessary to move mountains. Not only did the Akatuski have control over Rain, Madara had Water Country, and now Danzou ruled Fire. What function did they serve? Controlling the rest of the Countries was achievable. Madara's spread out forces could converge on any government. But why wait? The Akatsuki had almost all of the bijuu. What difference did it make if he was missing one or two?

Tsunade couldn't have been happier that Naruto had escaped. Tsunade knew that the eighth bijuu hadn't been found yet. That was all that protected Naruto for the moment. It was clear now that the council's decision to imprison him and been planted by Danzou. He yearned to keep the Kyuubi in a secure place. No one would predict he would fight against his village's wishes.

That gave Tsunade hope. Madara's plans were complex and there were holes. If his goal was to gather all of the bijuu, Naruto had complicated that. If he needed Orochimaru alive and well, that had already fallen through. Along with these errors and unexpected mishaps, Madara needed secrecy to gain power. If the other countries knew that Rain, Water, and Fire were all being manipulated, they would undoubtedly ban together temporarily. Tsunade saw that now. If she exposed Madara, it would take many more steps to recover. Even if Madara found her and killed her, covering all that mess up would be impossible. He would fall in an instant.

A cocky grin spread across her face. Even when scared shitless, she still had that unbreakable backbone somewhere deep inside. She had been right to stay behind. The council would be Madara's first targets. Once they were out of the picture, doors would open. If Tsunade warned them and convinced them to join her—that wouldn't be too difficult considering the file and its contents—they could warn the other countries and begin a counterstrike. Suna and Konoha were already taking out one of Madara's centers of power. One down and two to go. Iwa's proud leader wouldn't be hard to sway. They would reject any attempt at an overthrow in an instant. They may not necessarily commit to their forces, but at least their goals would be the same rather than fighting against one another to the bitter end.

Plans and ideas were buzzing madly in her. It would take little time to undermine this seemingly unbeatable foe.

Tsunade laughed a little to herself. Finally there was a silver lining to this chaos.

She leaned back and breathed deeply. This was a turn of events she hadn't expected. She had just uncovered a plot that has transcended years and years through secrecy, the culprit being probably the strongest shinobi that ever lived. His crimes were innumerable. His aliases probably ranged in the hundreds. He had the world's most feared Kekkei Genkai in its ultimate form. The original Sharingan, combined with a brother Sharingan, then together molded with a third. Tsunade couldn't even imagine what that power amounted to. If it could hide him from the world for so long, if it could enable him to fool generations of ninja, and control the strongest of all the bijuu, Kyuubi no Youko… What manner of man could he be? Could you still consider such a being human?

Yet she was feeling better than when she hadn't known she was up against a god of war and death.

There was a noise.

There was an unexpected sound in Tsunade's hiding place. Her heart jumped to a stop and the candle went out instantly. In the dark, she listened.

There it was again. A small dripping noise. Like a rain drop far out of place in the little hole she had cooped herself up in.

She waited.

"Ts-Ts-Tsunade-sama?" Whimpered a small voice. "Tsunade-sama, are you here?"

She didn't answer. Had she been found already? No. It was practically impossible. Getting to this hideout would take a week on its own. No one knew about this spot except…

"J-J-J…." The little whisper echoed in the other direction. Whoever it was was clearly lost. "J-Jiraiya-sama sent me."

_Jiraiya… _Tsunade's lips tugged. Jiraiya was the one that found this place after all.

It was moving farther in the wrong direction. "Jiraiya-sama told me to come when… when…"

Tsunade noticed something peculiar about the voice. It was tight and strained, as if holding back. There was a muffled sniffle. The intruder was crying or, at least, trying not to.

The kunoichi resisted speaking. She still didn't know if it was a trustworthy visitor or not. Jiraiya's name made her soft. Danzou, or Madara—whoever he was, would understand this.

"Jiraiya-sama told me to come if anything… w-w-went wrong. I-I am a messenger. He has information for you about the Akatsuki. They've split up. There are only a few of them left. Jiraiya-sama listened to a dispute. Th-there was a masked m-man there he had never seen before. Jiraiya-sama said that the army had left Rain. The masked one took them. They vanished out of thin air." The voice was far down the hall. Tsunade was struggling to hear it. "It was a j-j-jutsu like no other, Tsunade-sama… Jiraiya-sama said it wasn't possible for any human. None of the Akatsuki Jiraiya-sama researched were c-c-capable if it. The amount of chakra needed was too great."

Inhuman abilities… Akatsuki… A dispute? Madara… It had to be him. What was that Sharingan capable of doing?

"J-J-J-Jiraiya-sama wanted to give you the Kyuubi's seal… He wanted to pass on a message to Naruto-kun but things were delayed. The T-Toad Sages didn't want Naruto-kun to have the seal yet and stalled its departure. A scout arrived a while ago and no one was here. What h-h-happened, Ts-Tsunade-sama?" It was getting louder again. It had chosen to check her way again. "Wh-wh-where is Naruto-kun?"

The little voice stuttered to a stop when he ran into a wall he couldn't see in the black.

"He has to get away! The Ak-k-katsuki need him, Tsunade-sama. They need Naruto to release the Hachibi."

Tsunade almost spoke but, again, she remained silent.

"Th-th-the Kyuubi is the only one that can release the bijuu from its p-p-pr-prison."

She took in a breath. She couldn't take it any longer. "Where is the Hachibi?"

"Ts-Tsunade-sama?" She heard rapid footsteps, too brief to be human. "Where—?"

Tsunade rolled her eyes. "How long are you going to stand there?" The Hokage's hand flashed and the candle lit again. There was a small frog there, staring up at her.

"H-Hokage-sama." His little body was shivering.

The woman watched him sympathetically. "Get up here." The frog leapt up into her lap. It snuggled in the palms of her hands. She waited for it to look at her again before asking, "Where is the Hachibi."

"It w-was inside of Orochimaru. In the form of a sword. But—"

"But Orochimaru died…"

"No! Tsunade-sama, Orochimaru isn't dead… He… no, not yet… Jiraiya-sama had a theory. He gathered evidence after Orochimaru's death leading Jiraiya-sama to think he is surviving within others. His body didn't have chakra remains as a normal body should. The Akatsuki didn't know this. When they tried to retrieve the Hachibi, it wasn't there. Orochimaru's soul, where the Hachibi is residing, has moved to another body."

Tsunade tried not to look at the parallels between Madara and Orochimaru. Had Orochimaru based his immortality jutsu after Madara's? They_ had _been together in the Akatsuki. Perhaps they had crossed paths before Orochimaru even left.

"You said _others_?"

The frog's mouth thinned. "Jiraiya-sama ran ac-cr-cross someone who had… accepted a p-p-part of Orochimaru. That part is slowly rebirthing Orochimaru's chakra and consuming him. It was that medical genius…"

"Yakushi Kabuto…" Tsunade rubbed her temples. "But where is the Hachibi? Is it inside of Kabuto?"

The little amphibian shook his head. "Jiraiya-sama couldn't tell. There is evidence that any with a curse seal contain a part of Orochimaru's body, but Jiraiya-sama couldn't find any subjects. Uchiha Sasuke had killed them all."

"What of Kabuto? Is he still alive?"

"Yes… Somewhere, Yakushi Kabuto is still alive."

Tsunade couldn't believe her ears. That was what the Akatsuki had been after? Madara had been protecting Orochimaru, waiting for the time that the Kyuubi could release the Hachibi. But the Danzou had surely known it was in Naruto this whole time… Why wait?

The Akatsuki had become interested when Naruto's seal weakened.

They had been waiting for the Kyuubi to get some hold of its container. Now that the Kyuubi could overpower Naruto, it could release the Hachibi.

Madara needed Naruto to release the Hachibi. But where was it? Was it inside of Kabuto now? The Akatsuki clearly didn't know that. And Madara had made a very big mistake.

The last entries caught her eye. Multiple teams of Root were to converge on a historic site in Fire Country. It was an Uchiha landmark, made long before Konoha was formed. When told, they were to burn it to the ground.

There was an assassin's mission attached.

Operative Sai was to be killed. Uchiha Sasuke was to be framed for murder and taken into custody.

It was all there, in that folder. Madara was going to cover up the slaughter of his own operative. In the same instant, he was going to silence the last true threat to his success. The Kyuubi would be free game.

Tsunade didn't know how, but Naruto had to be told these things. He had to be prepared for anything.

"Alright…" Tsunade clapped her hands together loudly, making the frog jump. "I have a message for you to deliver to Jiraiya." She started digging in her pockets. "Do you have any paper?"

The frog stuttered wordlessly, looking at Tsunade's determined face. "But… B-b-but Tsunade-sama… He is… Jiraiya-sama is dead."

Tsunade took in a breath and held it. The toad watched her as her excited hands slowly rested on her thighs.

"_Send one of your toads if anything happens. I'll come and back you up immediately."_

That's what she had told him. The last time they had spoken, two years ago, that was the promise she had made. She hadn't noticed. Why would a frog suddenly appear in this secret spot… Why not Jiraiya? He always took the time to pop up and ruin her day.

"Tsunade-sama?"

Her mouth fell open a little. Her brows collided in a scowl. "Asshole…" She looked at the candle. The fire blew with her words. "I…"

Years. She hadn't seen him in years.

"_How 'bout we put your gambling skills to use?" Jiraiya's face was completely serious. There was even doubt there. He had just told her of his plan to leave with Naruto and, even then, he was second guessing himself._

Of course. Why would a frog appear if not for this?

"_Put everything you've got on me dying." Then he laughed a little, "You always pick the loosing bet."_

Tsunade gripped her knees. Her eyes darted around the flame. Her breathing made it sway and flutter. The little frog scooted back away from her.

"Tsunade-sama… Jiraiya-sama fought his former student… He didn't make it."

_He looked at her gently. "And in return, I'll come back alive and well." His eyes held longing like he wanted to hold her. But, knowing how Tsunade would react, he let the thought pass._

_Tsunade knew. She saw that look in his eye and she glanced away. Jiraiya had infinite patience and stamina. He never gave up, no matter how many times she rejected him. Why was he hesitating now? This was the one time she might not have pushed him off._

_How could she when he was that sincere. He didn't say it, but his eyes whispered 'I love you.'_

"Jiraiya…"

_He busted out and shouted, "I'm kidding, I'm kidding!"_

"Baka…"

Her look changed. Her wrinkles gathered in shocked bunches. Her eyes squinted, shimmering with stubborn tears. Strong women had bad habits. They pushed and they pushed and, eventually, no one pushed back. Her face tightened, her jaw clenched.

"_I'm kidding…"_

_No… You weren't._

Her tears fell where they could. They escaped and sought out Jiraiya. He had always loved her. He was her sunlight. Even if it was in a glare, her eyes went to him when he entered a room. She would yell at him, but only because she wanted him to yell back. She wanted him to smile, to joke, to make fruitless advances, to make her happy. She wanted to make _him _happy.

"Jiraiya…" Her face loosened. "You baka." Tsunade's lips tugged at the corners at the memory of his boisterous laugh. "Baka…"

* * *

Sakura felt very warm. Her memory of the previous night was hazy and full of holes. She remembered going into the bar with Sasuke, but not leaving. Her body felt light as she rested on foreign ground. She didn't remember moving. She didn't remember anything.

She did a quick body check. She was covered by something large. That halfway explained the distracting warmth flushing her face. The other thing she was quick to notice was that her medical pack was missing. She thought about the weight of her pouch of weapons that should reside on her thigh, but there was no such presence there.

She was just about to check the chakra presence around her when a hand landed softly on her shoulder. Sakura's eyes flew open, immediately muddled in transition from darkness to light, and she was disoriented. Her fist swung where she knew a head would be and struck hard.

Sakura was about to try again when her eyes adjusted. The face she had just punched was that of a very agitated Sasuke.

He grabbed her wrist and glared. "Morning, Sakura."

She sat up, nearly head butting him. Sasuke coolly dodged. "I am so sorry! I didn't know it was you…"

"Clearly." Sasuke rolled his eyes, still holding onto her as if she'd soon try again.

It was about that time that Sakura noticed how they were positioned. It was obvious that Sasuke had just leaned over her to wake her up. In the misunderstanding, Sakura had pinned him to the tree. His legs were casually stretched out beneath her.

She moved away and stood. When Sasuke released her hand, Sakura changed the hold and pulled him to his feet.

"What happened last night? I don't remember."

Sasuke raised a brow. His face turned sour and sarcastic. "Lots of things happened. I got information from spying on a group of shinobi in town. I was nearly found out thanks to you. When I came back you were drugged and a man tried to carry you away. I administered a premade antidote from your stock. You passed out and I spent the rest of the night avoiding the local law enforcement. They assumed that I had kidnapped you."

Sakura didn't remember a thing.

She had a light headache, but that was all she could register as a result of the apparently exciting night they had experienced. It unnerved her that she didn't recall almost being stolen away by some guy but, thankful, Sasuke had impeccable timing. She was spared from a potentially hazardous situation.

"I'm sorry."

He shrugged. "It was worth the trouble."

Sakura's eyes glowed. After all of that, they had to have gained something on Itachi and Naruto's condition.

Sasuke saw her expression and smirked. "The medic came into town very regularly. At first it wasn't certain that there were two people staying with him. It became clear when he received a package of transfusions from Wakaitani's hospital."

Sakura could almost see the sealed, frozen packets of blood. "It was type B."

"Type B." Sasuke nodded. "Then something changed. The man came to town a day or two ago and bought more food than before. It was much more than for two people. Then he stopped."

Sakura heaved a sigh. "What happened to him?"

"I don't know." Sasuke looked very perplexed. Something about this doctor's actions were different from what he expected. From the people he interrogated, the man was secluded but well liked. His work was appreciated by many, though unknown nationally. Some didn't agree with the patients he took in. They were often runaways and, sometimes, missing nin. He was very open about his actions it seemed. Why did Itachi choose this person?

Sakura expected the worst. "Did Itachi kill him? Do you think they've already left?" Naruto's name was in the tip of her tongue.

"If they have, they aren't far off." He fought to find her green eyes as they darted around worriedly. "Sakura." She looked at him. Her pale face changed a little, relaxing. Sasuke almost lost his thought, "When we find them, Itachi will be my focus." Sakura gave a curt nod. She knew that meant he was leaving Naruto in her care.

Whatever his condition, Sakura wouldn't let him go a second time.

"Are you ready?" Sasuke bore into her face. She looked a little tired still. Her body was no doubt combating with the remaining drug. He needed her at her best in these last crucial hours. They couldn't afford to slow up.

Sakura knew that.

"Yes, let's move."

The old man's walk to town was an hour.

Sasuke and Sakura would arrive in twenty minutes.

They sped through the trees in silence. Sasuke ran ahead of her slightly. A month or two ago, this wouldn't have surprised her. However, after all they had been through, Sasuke made a habit of lagging back to run beside her. She could feel tension in the air around him. There was something he hadn't said yet.

"What is it, Sasuke?"

He didn't respond.

"Is it Naruto? Did you hear something else?"

She clenched her fists at her side. What was Sasuke hiding? There was no reason to. Sakura knew that Naruto had to be kept alive before extraction. It took a lot of chakra to do so and it would be easy to tell when they started. Sakura would sense it from miles away.

But maybe it was worse…

Maybe Naruto had done something… What were the chances that Naruto had struggled and accidently… Would Naruto kill himself to avoid the Kyuubi's extraction? Had the Kyuubi possessed him and cut his life short? Any number of things could have gone wrong. Naruto was strong, but he often acted before considering the consequences.

"Sasuke," Sakura started. She didn't know how to put her thoughts into words. "I'm not going to freak out. If something happened to Naruto… just tell me. Please."

The shinobi didn't show signs of cracking.

She didn't understand. What else could it be? Had _he _done something? Was it about last night? Had something happened she still couldn't remember?

"You may want to go back."

Her head snapped up.

"Go back where? Sasuke, I'm… I'm not going anywhere. I promised…" Sasuke knew that she wouldn't leave, but what made him say that? What could he possibly say to change her mind?

"Sakura. Konoha was evacuated some time ago. It has lost connection with all outside sources. Apparently the Hokage declared war on Rain Country."

Sakura's eyes widened. "War!? Why?" She quickly caught up to Sasuke, seeking his expression.

Sasuke kept a blank face. "The Akatsuki are a threat to many nations. It is a rational decision."

"But why evacuate Konoha? The battle is in Rain."

He shook his head. "There was a struggle between the Hokage and her council. Any still loyal to her are ordered to be imprisoned. Most of the village fled."

"Where are they going?" That was fairly obvious. "Nevermind." Suna was the only ally they really had. "They went to Wind Country." Sasuke acknowledged her guess with a smirk. What a mess. "What were those shinobi in the village doing? They had the Konoha headband."

The scouts came to mind. Sasuke's face fell like the flick of a switch. "They were looking for someone."

The kunoichi didn't like the sound of that. He was beating around the bush.

"Sasuke, you've told me this much already. What is it?"

He turned his face to hers. They were slowing down. His eyes were fierce, full of emotions swirling together in his black iris. There was a solemn knowing there.

"If you choose to go back, I won't stop you. But with Itachi this close, I won't follow."

Sakura blew it off with a laugh. "Are you serious?"

The man didn't hesitate. "The Hokage has been sentenced to death."

It hit her like a blow in the chest. Her feet stumbled on the branches at the last three words. Sakura recovered, going at their hurried pace once more.

"Did the Hokage run?"

Sasuke watched out of the corner of his eye. Her face was contorted, angry, and frightened.

"She tried. But the ANBU sent to recover her left Konoha empty handed. They don't know if she died in the struggle or took refuge nearby."

Sakura covered her shivering chin. Sasuke was right to delay saying the truth. Sakura's first instinct was to turn in Konoha's direction and run as fast as she could. The council had turned on their Hokage? For declaring war on an _enemy country_? She wanted to run to her shishou's side and protect her.

Her legs twitched. Konoha wasn't far away.

She felt Sasuke's gaze and met his eyes. He saw the desire in them. The news had struck her heart. She wanted very badly to leave.

But his cold eyes kept her by his side for a moment, just long enough for her to think realistically.

It was between Naruto and Tsunade. They knew exactly where Naruto was headed. They didn't even know if Tsunade was alive.

If Sakura went to Konoha on her own, she would lose. But, with Naruto, she had Sasuke. Against Itachi, it was two on one. In Konoha, Sakura would be facing an unknown number by herself.

Green eyed deliberation blew away when Sakura's concentrated stare fell onto Sasuke.

The answer was right beside her.

She had to continue on the path she was on. She… wanted to. Sasuke was here. He had allowed her to go this far with him. He had been her companion for so long. He was patient with her. He looked out for her. In a way, she had become something valuable to him.

They had become a team again. Leaving him would only rupture the bridge they had built.

Besides, she left Konoha to save Naruto from the Kyuubi. She had vowed to protect him and this was her chance.

The kunoichi let her hand fall to her side.

Sasuke was waiting for her to face him and see a childish sadness, a pathetic goodbye. He dreaded it. But he was pleasantly surprised by the dazzling feature that appeared instead.

She was smiling.

Her eyes stung, but light behind the sea foam green churned confidently.

"I'm still with you, Sasuke" She grabbed his hand unexpectedly and squeezed. She wanted to save Tsunade. She wanted to see her shishou's face. She wanted to make sure she was alright. But Sasuke was right next to her.

She held onto his hand, not even thinking about whether he was comfortable with it or not. She needed to hold on to something to remind her not to run away. She wanted to stay with Sasuke. She wanted to be with him when he faced his brother and when Naruto was saved. She wanted to have her team back. Sasuke was willing to keep her near. That was all she could ask for. Even if Sasuke didn't want to comfort her, he did. He reminded her of what was most important.

Her hold was painful and desperate.

Sakura felt the blood pounding under his skin and released a little. She let out a breath. He could jerk out of her hand with ease now, but her head had leveled. She wasn't going to fly off the handle as she had feared.

His cold fingers stretched and Sakura prepared for the warmth between their palms to disappear.

His fingers constricted her hand tightly.

"We're almost there."

Sasuke let out a short sigh and slid his hand out of hers gingerly.

The back of her hand burned where his cold fingers had left white impressions. Her face flushed. Whatever emotions she listed couldn't cover what wonderful little flutters took over her stomach.

She felt his eyes shift to and from her. He was seeking out the house, still keeping an eye on Sakura with a scrutinizing face. It felt like captivity again.

In moments they saw the little house covered in patches of shadows from the leaves sheltering it. It was an old, well kept home that looked nothing out of the ordinary.

But it was unoccupied.

Sakura couldn't feel a chakra signature inside. The traces of Naruto's endless energy were everywhere. He was very much alive somewhere. Itachi's was faint as usual. The third one must have belonged to the man. It saturated the place with his gentle presence.

Sasuke proceeded to the front door. He almost turned the knob before taking a step back and kicking it open instead. There was a faint click as the door swung wide and a dozen shuriken went past Sasuke's trained eye. This was a petty trick, poorly made and poorly disguised. It wasn't Itachi's work.

The old man was still alive.

A weight lifted from Sakura's shoulders. One more innocent had avoided slaughter.

Sasuke stepped into the house and a wave of smells greeted him. Food. Sasuke strode down the main hallway, dodging as many creaking floorboards as he could. He passed bedrooms where the beds were unmade. Sakura, as she trailed closely behind, went into one room in particular. It was small with one bed, a side table, and chair shoved in the corner. Naruto had been here.

Sakura placed her hand on the ruffled pillow. The sheets had been pulled off the bed halfway just like in Naruto's apartment. He was alright.

She reached to fix the bed when the crumpling of paper caught her attention. There was a small folded thing there. It had been opened.

Sakura took it up and read:

_Daichi-san,_

_This will be my last visit. In this envelope is a paper with numerous bank accounts on it that I leave to you. I know they will be of use. Daichi-san, I hope the money there can act as thanks. Your services for all of these years have been very valuable and your company was much appreciated. However, there is one last thing I must ask of you._

_You must leave your home and this letter as soon as you finish reading it. This paper holds one more purpose to those following me. I am sorry that I have pushed these troubles on you, but I assure you, I will not be around to burden you much longer._

_The rest of this letter is an invitation for the shinobi tracking me._

Sakura held her breath at the name written in faded ink.

_Sasuke_

_I know you have been following me. It seems as though this Jinchuuriki leaves traces. In response, Uzumaki Naruto has been sent to Rain Country ahead of me. The Akatsuki run a tight schedule, Sasuke. But I am sure you can stop them if you hurry._

_But, little brother, you won't go after Naruto-kun, will you?_

_You have been seeking me out all of these years and now it must end._

_I will wait where it all began. The Uchiha stronghold a few miles from here was the final resting place for many of our clan. It is willing to accept one more. You and I will decide who that one should be._

That was all. No signature. Just those haunting words in elegant script.

Sakura stared at the page.

Naruto had been taken to Rain. Naruto… had been… taken.

The paper dropped, swaying until it hit the bed. Sakura's hands wove into her hair and she bit her lip.

Naruto. Had. Been. Taken.

She stood, weak kneed, sick.

Rain Country.

The Akatsuki.

"N-…. Naruto… NO!" She wailed, throwing herself onto the paper, reading it over and over again.

_Sent to Rain Country._

"Sakura?"

_Sent to Rain Country._

_Sent to Rain Country._

"NO! Naruto…" Sakura crumbled against the bed. "Please… No…"

Sasuke pulled her up by the arm. He saw the note instantly and ripped it from her clutches.

His eyes swirled red and he read it in seconds.

He didn't speak to her as he placed the paper back down.

"Sasuke… What should we do? Naruto… we can't leave him… How many are transporting him? Maybe we can take them on."

Sakura chased his wandering orbs. Something was different. He looked as he had months ago when he was her enemy. In the moment when he killed Akane, merciless and determined. His mission at that time had been to find Naruto and use him as bait for Itachi. Always Itachi. And now, he was being welcomed by the man he had been longing to kill all of these years.

He looked sorry. Apologetic. Like he was about to break his word.

Like he was about to leave again.

Sakura stared up at him, her eyes narrowing. Her jaw locked. There was no way.

"No. Sasuke."

His red eyes turned black.

"I can't stop the Akatsuki without you. I can handle one, maybe two on my own… but, Sasuke, you can't…" Sakura grabbed his shirt. Her knuckles were white. It was the same hand he had held not long ago. "Naruto needs you!" She huffed a breath, finding it difficult as her throat closed up with voiceless sobs. Suddenly both Tsunade and Naruto were out of her reach. Sasuke was standing here, not moving a muscle. Knowing what this was doing to her. "I need you… I _need_ you! Please, you can't go again. I want to help you, Sasuke… But this… This is wrong! Itachi isn't—… We _love_ you. Aren't we more important than—…?" She was begging now. She couldn't help it if she sounded pathetic. "Please…"

Those onyx eyes shifted away.

She tugged at his collar. "Don't… go again."

He put his hand under hers, swiping it off his clothes.

"Sasuke! Please!"

"Stop!" Sasuke stepped into her, pushing her back. "Stop saying that! What do you want from me?"

Sakura shot back sarcastically, "I want you to tell me your selfish indifference is more important than our love for you." Sasuke took another step, she didn't retreat this time. "Sasuke, what has this all of this been? What are we to you? Aren't we important?" His mouth opened, but he faltered. Sakura struck hard. "Naruto is going to die! Naruto is going to die, Sasuke, and you're not doing anything about it!"

He tuned that out. "You won't win against them. Whether you fight or not, Tsunade's army will slow them down in Rain. The Akatsuki won't get far." Sasuke's churning black irises were trying to soften her. "That's enough isn't it?"

It had the reverse effect. "What are you saying? Do you want _me _to leave him, too? You _are _selfish." Sakura shoved him back.

Sasuke let her. "Stop."

"You expect me to just ignore this and go with you? You don't need help killing Itachi. But Naruto is about to be trapped by the full force of the Akatsuki and you are telling me you won't do anything?" Her fist filled with chakra.

Sasuke lifted his hands, reaching, for only a split second. Then they dropped. "Sakura, you don't understand—"

"Are you… are you trying to protect me?" Sakura saw everything. Every hint, every glance, every action. Sasuke didn't actually believe… He wasn't thinking that way, was he? "Sasuke... If this is how you… you—... Sasuke! I can't…! I won't leave him, Sasuke. I can't leave him."

His gaze dropped, irked, perturbed. "The Akatsuki won't show mercy—"

"You think I don't know that?" Her tensed shoulders went lax. She couldn't think of anger. Not when filled with such stronger, torn emotions. "That's why I need you… I promised him… I told him I would find him again."

"You'll die."

Sasuke was trying. He was despicable for doing it this way, but he was saying he needed her

But Naruto… He needed her more.

"If I stay here, I have betrayed him."

Sasuke gawked. Sakura was fighting with him over Naruto. _Naruto. _

Envy.

Naruto always fought. Naruto always tried. Naruto always won. Naruto always saved her. Naruto always loved her. Naruto had always been loud and clear with everything.

Sasuke's frustration took over. "Everything I've been living for up to this moment is before me and you want me to save some idiot that got caught?"

"How have you changed!?" Sakura could almost see those eyes, Orochimaru's eyes. She could see the greed in him. "How are you different from when you left Konoha? When you left me… After it happened I told myself you were only being controlled by Orochimaru, but this is really how you are, isn't it?"

Naruto could. Sasuke couldn't. If Sasuke tried, he forgot what he had to do. He forgot his hate. He forgot that he had lost so much. Even if Sasuke wanted to… he had to remember Itachi. When it became too much to ignore, to annoying to push away… He had to leave.

Or he would forget everything else.

"This is _you_. This is who you are. Selfish. Lost in your hate. I was stupid to even think you had changed… Power-hungry. You died when they did, didn't you? When your family died… Sasuke… I—love you… I love you. That man. Cocky, proud, strong… I love him. When I met him, we were enemies. But I got to know him anew. Even if I wwas supposed to hate him… Whatever illusion you put over me until now, it worked. I love who I thought you were. But it was a lie, wasn't it…"

Sasuke's legs flexed. He wanted to speak. But that would be foolish. He had to let her believe that. She had to be kept at an arm's length. That night in Konoha, if he had not stopped her, he would have wanted to stay. He would have forgotten his hate. She had to believe that he was evil.

Or he wouldn't push back anymore.

Sasuke had the appearance of stone, underneath he was molten fire. "Sakura, if I don't go now, Itachi will escape."

It burned. Sakura couldn't face him anymore. "If _I _don't go, Naruto will die…" She stomped away from him.

Sasuke reached, catching her arm. "Wait." She whipped around. "Don't go alone." He subdued the raw emotions behind his glass eyes and stiffened his movement.

Sakura tried to get free. "There isn't time—" She was going to cry. Crying, crying. Always crying. He was always making her cry.

Sasuke didn't give an inch. "I won't let you die."

The morning lamp was becoming the noon sun. It was hot. The first day of a full-fledged spring. The grass around them was alive. The trees were verdant. They set their warm rays against Sakura's soft green, but she rejected them. Her eyes had frozen over. She stared at the grass. She was already done. She was done with Sasuke. She loved him. She loved the hand fastened to her arm. She loved the black eyes boring into her white pink hair. She loved his selfishness. She loved his presence. She didn't want to go. She didn't want to miss him again.

He had pinned her between her two hearts. Naruto's and his. It wasn't fair. But neither was she.

Sakura lifted her head. She loved him. She had fallen too far. She had lost too much. She had given up. Her face was blank. A mask. This face spewed lies. Lies. But she had to mean them.

"I would rather die for Naruto than live for you."

* * *

The sky flowed over Naruto's fiery body like cool water. The sun was glorious. He moved with such speed. It was thrilling. The power in his body was not corruptive. It was not consuming his consciousness. For once, he could see and feel and control everything. The Kyuubi's chakra was one with him.

The flaming form of Naruto looked like a crimson comet flaked with sunrise and gold. The streak behind him didn't set the forest on fire like before. It did flush through with a violent wind. Naruto rose higher, afraid that it would damage the budding branches, and looked across the vast horizon.

Itachi had shown him the door. Now, as requested, Naruto would follow through with his mysterious wish.

In the distance he could see plumes of smoke. There were thousands of gray and black streams leading to the sky and polluting the clouds.

The source of this vile was the village Naruto sought:

Ame.

The buildings of Ame were rumored to brush the rainy heavens. But as Naruto got closer, he saw nothing. There were no such mountains of manmade wonder. There was one tower, a pike that stuck out like a weed, in the middle of hills of rubble.

The village was nothing.

The water was filled with dust and wreckage. It was all muck, thick with blood and spills of oil and sewage. Pipes were spewing everywhere from the sides of buildings that looked like a bite had been taken out of them.

What happened here?

Naruto's sensitive ears caught the screams and roars of battle raging a mile from him. He could hear the screeching radio transmissions and the clatter of medical tools. The cries of a desperate enemy, the commands of an officer. It was war.

Naruto shot over the outskirts, ignoring the dying below that swore he was a sign of the apocalypse. Flying fireball… Naruto wanted to laugh, but it seemed a little too twisted.

The buildings slipped by him in blurs. His eyes, the white orbs that they were, watched with incredible detail. He could see the blood pumping under the shinobi's skin he passed. The power of a bijuu was filling him to the brim. And it was all in the palm of his hand.

He reached the center of the city. It was a crater of destruction. He spiraled around the edges of it, high about the action below. There was no need to land yet. After all, he still had no idea what he was meant to do. He couldn't see, out of the hordes of shinobi, one Ame nin. Suna and Konoha were what remained. The fighting had all but stopped.

_Suna?_

Something caught his attention at the edge of the chaos. It was a dust cloud hovering in the stagnate air.

He went through it by accident and it turned to glass as it hit him. Little beads of crystal were born from grains of sand in the blazing chakra surrounding him.

Sand.

Naruto looked down. There was a bushel of red hair.

"_Gaara!_" His voice, combined with the Kyuubi's boomed in the open air.

The person far below looked up. His sunken eyes were grave. On his forehead there was a red tattoo.

Naruto curled his body down and launched toward the ground.

A couple dozen shinobi leapt in front of the Kazekage, ready to fight. Naruto flinched back, stopping in mid air.

He lifted his hand before his face. It was emitting a constant flame while blood churned over his flesh. It looked a little frightening, even thought Naruto knew it was his own hand. He gave out a animalistic cackle.

He _looked_ like a demon.

Naruto willed it and the chakra began receding. He slowly came closer to the ground where the miniature army of Suna nin had gathered. One last burst of chakra knocked them away. His five tails dissolved and his skin stretched back over the exposed muscle and bone.

Naruto stepped forward and shook his head. His blond hair flipped from side to side. Little glass beads clattered on the concrete. The last patches of rawness were knitted over by skin. The Kyuubi's chakra was just below the surface, hiding, rather than being contained.

Behind the shinobi he saw the Kazekage's shocked face.

Naruto didn't even bother looking around. He walked right through the pack of defenders, up to his old friend's side.

"Hey, Gaara."

Gaara's mouth hung open a little. His eyes moved over Naruto's shining smile.

"Naruto…"

His grin widened.

"Long time no see."

The Kazekage exhaled with a startled chuckle. His memories as a Jinchuuriki were driving him mad. Jinchuuriki lost control when possessed by their bijuu. Yet, Naruto just walked out of his transformation like it was nothing. He didn't have help, he didn't look at all exhausted.

"You never cease to amaze me, Uzumaki Naruto."

The Kazekage turned a little, beckoning him to follow. Naruto briskly walked beside him, leaving the soldiers behind to figure out what just happened.

Naruto looked at the crowd approaching. He knew many of these people. His heart thudded against his ribs. Was this what Itachi been talking about? _Help your people_…? Had he known all along that they had been here fighting? Was Itachi aware of this battlefield?

Kiba was one of the familiar faces. He rode on the back of his trusted companion, Akamaru.

"Naruto!" The man waved a bloody hand. "Was that you flying around like a bat out'a hell?"

"Kiba!" Naruto gave his ear bursting laugh. "Yeah, that was me. I didn't know how funny I looked."

The shinobi reached them, panting lightly. "Funny? I nearly shit my pants."

"Don't blame me for your personal problems, Kiba." Naruto put up his arms when Kiba prepared to strike.

"Shut up, asshole!" He whacked Naruto on his shoulder.

The blonde chuckled while putting down his defenses. Kiba beamed at him. Naruto was a holy beacon compared to the warfare he had been stuck with these past few days. A jolt ran through him as he remembered his reason for coming. They had been told to find Naruto and here he was.

"God, Naruto… Where have you been? We looked for you… What were you thinking? You could have asked me to go with you, man, and I would've!"

"What're you—" Naruto sputtered to a stop. He remembered. "I can't believe I forgot. Kiba, so much has happened. I'm sorry I ran off…"

"Calm down, Naruto. We're glad you did. If you'd stayed Danzou would've gotten a hold of you."

Naruto rubbed his head. He spoke guiltily. "That's why I left. But I can't believe you all went to war_ without_ me!"

"We went to war _for _you, baka!" He was baffled. Naruto was dense as ever. "Tsunade-sama lost her job and everything."

"Tsunade? No way!"

KIba couldn't understand what was so hard about this. "Naruto, it's great that you're here… But, why are you surprised? When it hit the fan… I just figured that's what brought you here. Did you hear anything?"

"A lot happened, Kiba. I came here just… because I was told. I had no idea this was going on. Kiba. What happened to Konoha? Where's Tsunade?"

"Tsunade-sama went against the council for this war, Naruto. The village evacuated when Tsunade-sama gathered us to fight. She didn't want to leave. She figured she could do some good if she stayed." He was clearly upset with that decision. "My team, Team Gai, Chouji, Ino, and Kakashi… we were sent to find you and Sakura. Is she here too? I figured you couldn't carry her when you were on fire and all. Is she coming?"

Naruto's mouth opened a little. He hadn't forgotten his teammate. She was still out there somewhere. "No… Sakura and I were separated."

Kiba nodded. "By that Deidara guy, right? What happened after that, Naruto?"

"That's a little complicated, I don't know if I should tell you… I don't know if you would be too happy about it." Naruto couldn't imagine what Kiba's reaction would be if he knew the infamous Uchiha Itachi was on good terms with him.

The shinobi grumbled, but let it alone. "Don't bother. Your reasons are beyond me, Naruto. Always have been."

"Kiba." Gaara called them over. Spread on a flat pile of debris was a gruff map of Ame.

He bounced away from Naruto to Gaara. "What's up?"

"Most of the Akatsuki have pulled back. The woman is setting up defenses around the tower."

"Shino went in after her."

"But I don't know what's going on there now." His finger ran circles around one tower. It had been the tallest to begin with.

Kiba waved it off. "It's alright. He can hold his own from a distance. I feel sorry for the suckers who find him."

"Kakashi and some others are there as well." Naruto's ears perked. "Shikamaru and I will discuss an invasion plan with the troops that retreated. I need you to inform those still in action."

Akamaru backed away. He was ready to go in. "Sure, Gaara." Kiba received a few dirty looks from the Kazekage's followers and threw in a half-hearted "sama."

"Good luck, KIba." He looked at Naruto with a hopeful smile. "Naruto."

"Take care of yourself, Gaara." Naruto watched his friend join his comrades.

Kiba rolled his head on his shoulders. "We got here so far with a big surge. A lot of those fighting don't really have the time on their hands to check for fresh orders. Looks like Shikamaru volunteered me for the job." He barked a laugh and looked at Naruto with a serious face. "Wanna join in?

"Sure." Naruto leapt onto level ground with him.

"Can you manage on your own? Akamaru can't carry two where we're going."

The Jinchuuriki casually answered, "Yup. No problem."

Kiba scoffed, "Don't you feel a bit overwhelmed. You're acting really cool with this."

"I've been in over my head from the start." Itachi's face came into his mind. "What's a few more surprises? Besides, I should take part of the blame. I ran off in the first place."

"That you did. You're a mess, Naruto."

They rushed forward across the crater. Akamaru needed to gain speed before climbing the wall. Naruto watched from the side. The beast could go many times faster than a human yet Naruto was keeping up with ease.

"Yeah, I know. A pain in the ass…"

The chakra ignited on his skin.

"Keep it up and we might win this thing."

"_We'll see._"

* * *

(One quick question: **How did you all find out about EnoK (the first one)?** Did you just run across it? Word of mouth? What drew you? Was it the number of reviews? The main characters? The genre? What was it? I'm curious. )

Hahahahaha!! I _love _manipulating information. I can't talk too much about anything because I don't want to give it all away. I was reading the chapter "Home" in EnoK and noticed one of Sakura's lines that made me laugh:

"Tobi and his Sharingan seemed to have a bigger role in all of this than anyone thought. Naruto and Sasuke were in harm's way still. Why didn't Tsunade understand that it was all connected?"

Hehehehe… Oh, it's connected, Sakura, too bad you don't know how…

AHHH! I want to write! It was so funny… while doing this chapter I thought I wouldn't pass 6,000 words… Boy was I wrong.

Kiba is my comedic relief now a days. I love him so much! And I just want to talk about sunlight whenever Naruto is in a scene. I know I do already. Bad. Habit.

Thank you all for dealing with my sporadic absences. School is going to delay me a lot… again. Anyway, thanks for keeping interest!

Next Chapter – Man and His Desire

Pray that your loneliness may spur you into finding something to live for, great enough to die for.

_Dag Hammarskjold_


	7. Man and His Desires

Playlist: The Bird and the Worm (The Used), Carpal Tunnel of Love (Fall Out Boy), Re-Education(Through Labor) (Rise Against), Betrayal (The Black Maria), and Odds (Mutemath).

* * *

Pray that your loneliness may spur you into finding something to live for, great enough to die for.

_Dag Hammarskjold_

* * *

…

Man and His Desires

…

* * *

The thin fabric of reality waiting on the other side twisted violently. It frayed, spun together, and looped in the void. The flickers of locations, images of the world, were all at the fingertips of one man. His thoughts could force him into any picture he chose. He could disappear for a second, he could vanish for a week, years. He could hang in the void, watching the holes in the emptiness and see what chaos unfolded on the outside.

Uchiha Madara stood very still.

It was not easy as before.

He had to remain constantly aware of those he dragged behind him. The hundreds of soldiers in the void with him were at his mercy. If he slacked for a moment, they could all be lost to the abyss.

It took so much energy. He had yet to recover from the first jump. When he got the army out of Rain, the impact was greater than he had anticipated. There was resistance in his body that had been eating away his concentration. The boy he had consumed so long ago was emerging, little by little. He had expected a little fatigue, but the effects were stronger than ever before. He had collapsed. He secretly thanked Kisame. His mind had been too occupied to see that jumping all the way to Konoha would have killed him. Kisame had been right to warn him. All of his years of perfecting jutsu and his Sharingan would have been wasted on a moment of impatience.

They had been traveling nonstop for days. And after the long trek into the bowels of Fire Country, they were finally close enough to Konoha for one last jump. But Madara was concerned. He had yet to recover from the last venture between the threads of time and space. He wasn't sure what would happen this time.

The council had always been proud of their borders and chakra barriers. What resistance would it pose? Madara doubted that it could slow _him _down, but what about the soldiers following? The constant surveillance and strong repulsion they had formulated around Konoha's walls had only been intensified since Tsunade turned against them.

Against these odds, he and Rain's army floated in nothingness. Madara felt his energy pour out of him. There was a thick wall before him, casting a blue light into the nothingness. The soldiers were not aware of it. Their minds couldn't comprehend what was happening to them. In their eyes, this place did not exist. The trip from the outside to within the village's walls would be as simple as blinking an eye. But that wall was strong. The council had made sure of that.

Madara had hoped a civil war between Tsunade's forces and the Root would wipe out Konoha and make it ripe for the taking. But that woman's pride and weakness pushed her in a more pointless direction. Now that Madara had taken away the bulk of Rain's defenses, the Akatsuki were sure to fall. That much was clear.

When Konoha was victorious over the Akatsuki, the enemy of all nations, it would be hailed as a hero. It would set an example for the world.

However, Tsunade could not be the leader behind such a feat.

Even though he had made his original plan harder, in the end, it would be a more glorious victory.

Ame's army would invade Konoha. Danzou's elites would rise above Ame just as planned. Rain would fall. Root would assume control over Fire country, lead by a worthy commander.

Without a Hokage to thank, Danzou would assume power.

Suna would have no choice but to obey. Neither side was aware of its predicament. None would hold testament against Danzou as he assumed leadership over Fire and Rain. He could unite the nations, forming a new world. Rock Country may object initially, but if Madara was guessing correctly, Pain would have no problem wiping out the power behind the Tsuchikage. Rock Country would collapse. But, conveniently, Danzou would provide aid and support. The Tsuchikage would be silently removed from the foreground, just as the Mizukage had years ago. Iwa's cutthroat beliefs would dethrone their dictator without a second thought. The side with the best chances always wins.

Konoha's victory had to be convincing.

Madara doubted that Rain's best would last very long if he joined the opposing shinobi. These next steps would make or break Madara's future. As Danzou, he could lead them into a neck and neck battle that would redefine the art of war for all time. The council would die in the crossfire.

Suna's treachery would not go unnoticed. Even if the Kazekage survived the war with Rain, no one would remember a Kazekage too young to be titled. It might take years, but Madara had all the time in the world. Suna would eventually follow his lead.

It didn't matter how long it took. Minds could be molded by war and money. Disaster could wipe their reason out. Once war began, it would not stop. There would be no pause this time. There would be no temporary peace. Madara would pour fuel and more fuel onto the flames until only ashes remained. Soon he would hold all of the nations in his hand, to crush or control.

It was in his reach, after centuries of waiting and planning. Madara stretched his arm through a hole in space. The blue light fell far behind him. He tore through, tugging the hundreds of souls he ferried along with him. He took a step onto solid ground and the veil fell from the army.

Konoha suddenly surrounded them.

They stood in deserted streets. None moved. Most were still trying to reorient themselves. A handful of shinobi toppled, stone dead. They had been lost in the transfer. Madara overlooked their companion's dismay. His chakra was drained by half. Sacrifices didn't faze him. Madara held himself up carefully. He had to jump one more time. To the council, Danzou had been temporarily away, taking care of matters with the remaining villagers and searching for Tsunade and any rebellious figures. When he returned to their side, he was to assume his final role and it had to be convincing.

He faced the army. One blank faced soldier waited for orders.

"Kill everyone. Burn everything."

The shinobi nodded and spread the orders in the ranks. One by one, they vanished into the streets.

Madara soon stood alone. His eyes had descended upon tall, closed gates. The gates of Konoha. The prison he had formed for the Root and for the village. The more that escaped, the more that could resist. As Danzou he had to shut these doors for good. If any more shinobi left, Konoha might actually fall to Rain. He hoped silently that the unit he sent out would erase the Uchiha's last historic monument as soon as possible. Inside of it were the records of the Uchiha, filled with Madara's secrets. Konoha's records were to face the same fate, but there was more risk involved. If destroyed before Rain's invasion, it would be clear it had been done so on purpose. Villages would not trust Konoha. It had to be covered perfectly.

Madara took in a breath. It was time for the final curtain. He pulled away the skin of reality and stepped into the unknown.

He landed in a dark room, deep within Konoha. It was a dark underground of the Hokage's office. The council was bickering with a scout.

"But the barrier was not breached!"

"I know, but there have been reports around the village. They _are _here—"

"—How did they get in!?"

"We're still trying to figure that out…"

"Call Root. Get defenses around this building."

"What about the villagers in the mountain safe houses—?"

"—They're on their own…"

It took no time for Madara to assume the appearance of Danzou. He walked out of the shadows.

The group waiting in the room was startled by his convenient appearance. It was clear that they didn't even consider suspecting him. After years of using Root to control Konoha from behind, Danzou had become a large part of their success. Danzou was their security blanket. They had no choice but to believe in him.

Koharu addressed him first. "Where have you been!? Ame's army has gotten through _your _defenses. Where is Root!"

Madara coolly interjected. "Calm yourself." They were quite. They listened for his wisdom. "How soon will they be here?"

"I'm not sure." The scout was shaking. "Without anyone defending, they could be here in minutes. They're burning every building they come to."

"I see." Madara resisted a chuckle. "Where is Root?"

"They await your orders."

"Send them all to the front line. All but my three squads. They will come here and escort the council to the safe houses." The council looked nervous. They almost disappointed. _Just three squads?_ "They are the most exceptional of Root's ranks and serve as my personal guard." They seemed to relax a little.

The scout glanced between Danzou and the others.

"You have your orders, boy." Homura snapped.

He nodded and gave Danzou a relieved smile. "Yes, Sir." He ran to the exit and out of sight.

Madara looked at the council just before leaving. "I have some things to do."

Koharu leaned on Homura, wrinkled hands shaking and grabbing. "How long?"

"Not long."

"W-What about us?"

"Don't worry," Danzou clenched his cane and tilted his head. His face was out of view and a twisted grin distorted his emotionless face. "You are safe for now."

Danzou fell back into his calm exterior. He had grown too accustomed to Tobi's mask. Without it, there was no telling what emotions might be exposed. He would have to adjust to being Danzou again. This was the exterior he would remain in until everything had settled.

He looked over his shoulder and gave them a small smile and inclined his head.

"I won't forget you."

…

The young boy following Danzou had never imagined being in such an important position. When comparing his rank and experience level with the biography of the previous protectors, it was obvious that he was not qualified. His whole squad was weak. Unlike the soldiers of rank, he went by an assigned name: Hou.

He stuck close to his commander as he walked into the Hall of Records. Root nin were searching in the files and shelves for a particular folder. Danzou had specified the label with only a few nin. What was so important about that file? Was it worth endangering their lives? This was one of the few buildings in the sector that had not been destroyed. It was only a matter of time.

Danzou was diligently searching on the shelves the soldiers had overlooked. He threw files onto the floor as he read them. His face was tense and anxious. Hou could only watch from the side as his frustration grew.

The sounds of glass breaking in the distance caught his attention. The Rain nin had found the building.

Another Root agent was at their leader's side in seconds.

The shinobi's words were rushed. "We couldn't find it."

Danzou's arm dropped to his side. A paper or two fluttered out of his fingers. "What?"

He spat it out again; his attention was more focused on the soldiers getting closer to their position. "We couldn't find it. It isn't in the safe. It isn't on the shelves. It's gone."

"Gone?" He hissed. "Gone, you say?"

The boy felt a strange chill in the room. The short tempered shinobi that had spoken seemed unaware.

The ninja took Danzou's good arm and started pulling him along the aisle. "Yes, it's gone. The file must have been removed."

"There was a tracking jutsu on it. Did you check?"

"Yes, there was a break-in sometime yesterday. The tracer was destroyed."

Danzou dug his heels into the ground. His unexpected strength halted the young soldier. "It was stolen.

A flicker of killing intent in the old man's eyes frightened the boy. Hou's eyes couldn't stray from his commander even when he tried. How could the other man not see it?

"Yes." The answer was emotionless, but uncomfortable.

Danzou clenched his fist. He tore his arm away and muttered a few words. A fire sprouted around his hand.

"Burn it. Burn it all."

The papers closest to him cringed at the heat, reluctantly catching the flames. They soared up the tall shelves to the ceiling. The boy watched Danzou's face, covered in shadows. The darkness could not hide the pure rage in his expression. The fire surged and Danzou turned, walking quickly to the end of the aisle. The two soldiers didn't react fast enough to stop him.

The invading squad was around the corner. The instant the Rain nin saw him, they rushed in for the kill.

Before Danzou could release his fury upon them, Root interfered. Hou grabbed him with a trembling hand and led him out of the burning building. The Root behind him fought their enemies not knowing what sinister power was almost unleashed.

The Rain nin were eliminated in seconds, one squad of Root against a dozen or more of the invaders. It was true that Konoha was outnumbered, but Ame's soldiers were vastly outmatched.

From that little exchange between Root and Rain, it was clear who would win the battle. In Rain Country, Pain had hardly any knowledge of the battlefield other than strict survival. He had never been taught battle strategy beyond the basics. However as Danzou, Madara had complete freedom. His soldier's lips were sealed with a jutsu. The lessons he gave them spoke for themselves. They were going to win hands down.

This could not be so. In the back of his mind, Madara was beginning to worry about the council. They were going to survive. He had intended for the invasion to last longer, endangering them so their deaths would appear accidental, but the wind was too strong in his favor. At first their death was just to take over Konoha politically, but now it was damage control.

He had to make it seem like there was a struggle for victory. If not, no country would trust him.

There were a handful of shinobi around him. For a moment he pondered, then he smiled. What was one handful less to Konoha? If it served the illusion he was trying to create, he would kill hundreds.

He had to get to the council soon. As long as the file existed, he could not rest. He was certain the two elders had not read it yet, but someone was intending to make that a reality. The council would be the most influential voice if information about his identity leaked out. If he killed them first, such information had to be nipped in the bud. But who had taken it? Who had taken the only shred of weakness Madara had foolishly allowed to remain? Only one person came to mind. The one that still lurked in Konoha:

Tsunade.

Hou waited nervously to get moving. The Rain nin would soon know what had happened to their comrades. The soldier in charge signaled for them to move and Hou took his place beside Danzou.

He watched the white patch over the man's eye for a moment. The chill he was feeling seemed to be emanating from under those bandages. The emotions he had long been deprived of were coming back. Just by looking at that face, he wanted to cry. Fear. An instinctive fear was resurfacing. Danzou was not to be trusted.

"Soldier." He addressed the commanding officer. "What area are we going into?"

The man looked hesitant. They showed no emotion as far as such operatives went, but there was a slight hint of caution.

"Yes?"

"Has this area been invaded yet?"

"No, but they are following close behind."

Danzou let out a slow sigh. "Stop for a moment. I need to discuss a strategy."

"Please do so while moving, we do not have the time to delay." His voice was stern and rational. Instinct. Not clever or conniving, just instinctive.

The old man snapped back with a dead tone. "Do not challenge me. Stop here, that's an order."

The squad landed in the middle of a road. They were exposed. The shinobi looked around awkwardly. Their senses were acute to the surroundings, but they didn't like being in the open. Hou stood behind Danzou, watching his movements carefully. He didn't want to be there. He didn't want to watch the man's dark, plotting expressions anymore. Childish intuition was driving a stake of terror through the Root reasoning programmed into him.

The leader of the unit pulled out a map of the village.

Danzou paid no mind. "All of you, come closer." He said it loud enough for all of them to hear.

They obeyed, creating a half circle around him. Danzou shakily allowed his cane to fall to the ground. Some jolted forward to help, but he held up his hand to stop them.

Hou didn't move. He let the others follow orders, as rebellious as it seemed, he had no desire to listen to that monster in a man's guise.

Danzou stood on his own two feet, using his freed hand to tug at the bandages on his face.

Hou cringed, taking a step back. His eyes moved away from his leader and into the village. Disobedient. Unruly. Unworthy.

"Look at me for a moment."

Their eyes fell to the shadows beneath the white bands and they froze. Their limbs twitched. Their eyes shifted around, panicked. There were grunts, feet digging into the ground, but they did not move. It was not a jutsu they could easily break from.

Danzou fixed the loose bandages so his eye was covered. He took a moment to observe them. It looked like a painting. He had never seen them stand still for so long. He could really look at them. He had created the perfect soldiers.

He heard the Rain nin's battle cries in the distance. Even if the soldiers managed to dispel the illusion, they would be too sluggish to fight back effectively. But it would look realistic. There was no blood on Danzou's hands as of yet.

When interest faded, he turned. Hou's wide eyes were on him. It wasn't possible. Their leader… had betrayed them.

Hou let out a small squeak and sprinted as fast as he could.

His heartbeat was thick in his ears. For once in his life he felt genuine desperation. He wanted to live.

He heard footsteps.

Hou looked over his shoulder. Danzou was following.

He opened his mouth but he couldn't scream. His feet led him into an abandoned building. He ran into a room, waiting around the corner for when his pursuer entered. His breathing was heavy, his hands were shaking. His training had been forgotten. His emotions were on his face. Snapped from the reality that had been presented, he stared his death in the face.

He waited, trying to calm himself.

Suddenly the cries of his squad woke his senses. He heard the enemy's weapons hit defenseless flesh. He heard their bodies drop. His squad had been slaughtered without even the opportunity to survive.

There was another sound. The sound of a blade sliding through fabric. It was much closer this time.

The footsteps in the hallway had come upon him too quickly. He hadn't been paying attention.

His small hands went to his stomach. A gleaming blade pierced him, sliding through his skin like butter. Just when his hands were to touch the metal, it was ripped out of him. The red blade collided with his neck, cutting through vein and sinew.

Hou looked for his killer but the man had already walked out of the door.

The boy dropped to his knees and died.

…

Tsunade stood in her old office. She sat at her old desk. Through the doors she could see the blood stain where her ANBU had been killed. The glass was shattered. She could hear footsteps all around the building. But she had to risk it.

She was scribbling madly across a blank scroll.

There was so much she had to prepare. The heavy folder sat on her lap while the small frog perched on her shoulder.

_Kazekage,_

_With the time that I have left, I just request that you pass along the following information enclosed. There is a simple summoning jutsu I have placed here. Inside is a folder that contains the evil Konoha has brewed. It is an analysis of events that has led to the death of the Uchiha Clan, the formation of the Akatsuki, and the destruction of Konoha. Also, all the data you need on Uchiha Madara. I don't have time to tell you more._

_Madara's next targets are the remaining Uchiha, Sasuke and Itachi, as well as the Uchiha stronghold not far from Konoha. I would go myself, but there are things I must do here. Please, please send any you can to stop Root from completing their mission. They are waiting for the informant, Operative Sai, to confirm contact with the targets. They are expected there, at the stronghold._

_I want to speak to my friends and comrades, wherever they may be._

_I want you to read the file. But no matter what you feel about Konoha when you see this file, I want you to know that I am proud of my village still. It is because of the strong, brave people of this village that I have continued living until this point. It was because of you that I even became your Hokage. My triumphs have all been due to your dedication and fearlessness. Thank you._

_I wish I had more time._

Tsunade gripped the pen.

_Shizune, you have been with me through everything. I've never been able to say it clearly enough to you, but I love you. You are my most precious friend._

_Please, live on and be happy._

She stopped. She looked at the paragraph. She couldn't believe she was writing her last words. There was so much she wanted to say. There were so many she wanted to thank. But she couldn't. She couldn't put it all into words.

Tsunade put the pen at Shizune's name and scratched out those lines. She couldn't be selfish now. She had people that were depending on her. She had to leave instructions for the living, not sorrowful words of the dead.

_Gaara, please forgive the burden I am placing upon you. Along with the Uchiha's file, there are legal papers. They are for Konoha. I am leaving this village in your hands. Even if Madara does win this, the land will belong to you. It's just a plot of land. It's desolate and __empty. You are already protecting the life of Fire Country. It is the people that need you. I need you to protect them._

The pen clattered on the wooden desktop. Tsunade lowered her head into her hands. She gripped her hair.

She didn't want to let go.

Her sole desire was to live.

This letter was cold, but it was all she could fathom. The letter was naïve. It was hollow. She couldn't put her fears into words. She couldn't comprehend death well enough to put it into words.

She had to stop a while. She had to gather her thoughts. She could wait. Madara would be destroyed by this message. If he found her, the frog would escape. If he killed the council before she could speak with them, the frog would still escape.

She had the moments necessary to say goodbye to life.

Tsunade leaned up, pushing her back into her comfortable chair. She poked the little frog. "When I give you this letter, go directly to Rain."

"What about Naruto-kun?" He hopped onto the table. Tsunade looked confused. "The Sages have decided to give Naruto-kun the seal. Where can I find him?"

Tsunade shrugged. "Take the letter and the seal to Gaara. Make sure it is a safe place. Don't appear in the middle of fight or anything." She joked quietly. "Right outside the city. That should be about right."

"Why not send it now?"

Tsunade stared at those colorful eyes. "I haven't finished yet." Yes, she was being stupid and selfish… But she needed this closure. "Send the file to the Toad Sages until Gaara summons it. I have a copy here. I'll find the council first. When I've spoken to them, deliver the message." She clicked her nails on the wood. "If… If I die before I send you off, go immediately to Rain. Finished or not."

She got up, going to the door.

"Where will you go, Tsunade-sama?"

"To the council. I have an idea where they are."

Tsunade walked into the hallway. She would have to be careful, but she had the strangest feeling that the council would not be well guarded. Under her feet, stories below, the council was probably left to wait for the first Rain nin to find them.

* * *

The abandoned Uchiha buildings hovered above the trees like ghosts. They were hollow, and fragile. All of the legacy and life had been drained from them long ago. But still… standing in the middle of such an important part of Konoha's history… Every street, every home had in it a story that demanded respect.

The center of the settlement was a tall structure. The large Uchiha fan was displayed with faded paint. The evidence of color had almost completely vanished. There was, however a permanent red stain.

The large doors were not sealed shut by time as expected. Instead, they were wide open, pushed in very recently. The dust on the floor had not recovered from entry. There were two pairs of footprints leading out. Where had they come from? Where had they been?

The grass underfoot crumpled. It was the only living thing here. Weeds had already begun to sprout. Old, dead vines crawled up the wall, guiding wandering eyes to the large frame of the building.

What secrets were here? Who had intruded? Was it who he was looking for?

Black shoes clicked on concrete. The walls were revealed by a flashlight. Paintings, depictions of things that could not be defined by words ran all over the insides of the halls. Secrets. Secrets.

"What is this…"

The flashlight shot through space, catching glints from dust in the air, into a larger room. Its round walls encompassed what the light had now been cast upon.

It was a statue.

A creature with eight faces. The scales were carved with detail. Cobwebs strung between swerving necks and fangs.

Snakes.

Secrets.

Sai approached the statue. The air from the open door before him supplied a hiss of wind that sent chills down his spine.

There was no one here. Sai knew this. So why was there a dark vibration coming from this building? What was hiding here?

Why had Sai been sent to this place?

Why had Danzou been so intent that he investigated here?

He walked back into the sun. This village was dead, yet that statue stirred uneasiness in him. The instinct that Root pounded into his mind was telling him to wait. Maybe there was more to the village that he had seen.

Sai gazed back at the building. The sun blinded him, casting a dark shadow at the edge of the roof. For a moment he imagined a figure staring down at him, hidden by the sun. He could almost see him leap down and land before him. Then the specter that would come at him and slit his throat. He almost felt the cold metal against his skin and his last breath escaping him.

They were short, daydream illusions. Flickers of a potential reality. But they didn't frighten him. They were empty threat hallucinations. He had no reason to search deeper into the building. He didn't want to violate it any more than he had.

He would wait. He would wait and see what Danzou had been anticipating.

* * *

The ratty shirt they had given him was catching on his stitches. The bandages were rigid and he couldn't bend his arms enough to reach it. The lady that had been tending him was on her "lunch break" with the doctor. The_ doctor _was too _occupied_ to fret over whether he would rip off the gauze on his burns just to itch his ribs.

So the patient ignored it, staring at the ceiling, flexing his recovering leg.

Ever since they pulled Deidara out of the hole, he had been hiding out in that small town. He had feigned amnesia so they wouldn't ask him too many questions. And after putting him on that piece of shit they called a mattress, they left him to sit and heal while they searched for his identity. They spread his description through their pathetically orgonized system. Because they didn't have hawks, messages took longer to deliver. But Deidara had been sitting still for days. He had been expecting something a little more extravagant.

The Akatuski hadn't come looking for him and neither had Konoha. Deidara was certain Konoha had a description of him hanging around somewhere. What was taking them so long?

He was getting bored.

All he could do to occupy his time was expend his chakra making clay. It was a pathetic waste of time. Day after day, he took rocks and molded the elements until it was a soft, mushy clay. He had enough to last him a few years.

"How are you feeling?"

The nurse had come back.

Deidara rolled his eyes at her overly polite attitude. That innocent façade was probably the worst he had ever seen. She hadn't bothered to do the two middle buttons of her shirt, leaving a very odd hole in her otherwise decent outfit. Nor did check to see if her underwear was in her pants or not. Her crumpled hair was pulled back into a ponytail. The poor tie looked like it was about to bust.

"Well enough." His eyed trailed over her wardrobe malfunctions. "How was lunch, hn?"

Her smile faltered. Deidara chuckled.

"You'd rather play nurse with me, then? I'm sure I'm a better waste of time."

The woman blushed. "Excuse me?"

Deidara shrugged.

She awkwardly checked his injuries. Clearly she hadn't expected him to catch on to her little affair.

"I'm sorry to say that none of the village's we've contacted knows who you are. We're waiting for a response from Konoha right now."

"Konoha?" Deidara smiled to himself.

"Yes… There's a rumor going around that the Akatsuki have invaded." The man massaged the clay in his hand. The mouths were bound, hiding under the blankets. The woman didn't notice. She laughed lightly, reassuringly and sat down her clipboard. "It's best that you stay here. This town is too small to catch their eye."

Deidara waited for her to lean closer. She reached over him to check the IV and he lightly took her arm.

"The Akatsuki? Hmm… I remember them. An exciting bunch, nah?"

The nurse moved away, but his hand stuck. She looked at him. His blond hair was around his shoulders, covering his face.

"I wonder… Did they have a name? A face? Who invaded?"

"I-I don't know…" It was beginning to dawn on her the danger of that hand on her arm. "They have those red cloaks."

"I know about those. Who invaded? Was it a man and a woman? Or a blue man? What did they look like? How many?"

"There's one man leading them. They don't know what he looks like."

There was a small hope in his gut. "Why not?"

"He wears a mask."

Deidara's eyes lowered, going over the buttons and her disheveled pants. Eyes mixed between lust and bliss. A mask. A mask. He took in a deep breath and he contemplated in silence. It was a long tense pause.

"Have you ever met them? The Akatsuk?"

She was shaking. "No."

He grinned, lifting his head. "No, hmm…? Are you sure about that?"

Something moved on her arm. It was the hand. Sharp rows digging into her skin. She flinched but Deidara did not release her.

"We're an exciting bunch, missy." Through the bandages a tongue slid across her skin. "Let's hope I'm the last you meet."

He let go slowly, hand up, so she could see his palm. Her face blanched and she staggered away.

She stood there, quivering. Deidara slowly moved to the edge of the bed. His leg had hardly recovered, but he didn't have time to worry about that… If it was Tobi invading Konoha, he had little time to get in on the action. This time the two faced son of a bitch wouldn't walk out alive.

He pulled back the blankets revealing the stock of clay he had hidden.

"Get me a bag. A big one."

The woman didn't move.

Deidara looked away from his bed to her face. He carefully rose to his feet and limped over to her.

He placed his hand on her neck. "Please." The mouth bit down on her windpipe and she shoved him back with a small scream. He released without resistance.

She cowered against the wall, inching toward the door. Deidara took a step and she was gone down the hall.

He sighed, rolling his head on his shoulder. He flexed his foot, feeling the torn muscles on his leg twitch and twist painfully.

_3, 2, 1._

A large black bag was thrown through the doorway and he heard the clicking of heels.

He leaned out the door to watch her run frantically. She would surely fall right into the arms of her doctor, screaming about the maniac they had been treating all this time. He had a minute—maybe two—until he would have to start killing people. So, he grabbed the clay in large handfuls and packed the bag to the brim. He filled every pocket with enough left over to fill his hospital garments.

He took a small bite and, while chewing, slung the bag over his shoulder so the bulk was across his back. He waltzed out.

The woman's screams began.

Deidara sighed while raiding the closet of the employees. He grabbed a large trench coat and put it on over the bag. He proceeded to fill those pockets and by the time he heard more footsteps coming he had finished.

He separated the clay in his mouth into pieces and began spitting wads of it along the hallway as he walked.

The front door was in the following wing. He turned the corner to find his nurse standing there. She hadn't been expecting him.

Deidara stopped, she seemed a little torn. The footsteps behind them were getting closer. He mumbled with a full mouth, "Kai." The small explosions set off, sending smoke through the building. Their startled cries got quieter and quieter as they ran.

The woman didn't budge. "Are you going to Konoha?"

Deidara smirked. "Yeah."

"What about this village?"

"What about it?" He chewed the clay in his mouth like gum.

"We know what you look like… Are you going to kill us?" She was ringing her hands, her long, colorful nails dug into her skin.

He didn't answer.

"Are you going to kill me?"

The murderer walked forward. He was feet from her. Inches. Then he passed her by, brushing her shoulder, and stopped. He reached for her face and she cringed like a paralyzed animal. He grasped her hair, pulling it. Her frumpy locks fell loose and he stretched the hair tie between his fingers.

"Nah." He met her eyes with amused interest. Relief was plain on her face. "The guy I'm looking for is a better waste of time."

Deidara strode out of the building. He pulled back his haphazard hair and tugged his bangs over his face.

No one noticed him leave the village. Their focus was on the fire starting in their little damaged town. He limped in the forest, chewing his clay. Konoha was in for a grand surprise. As was the Akatsuki. Deidara had never considered going against the organization outright, but the idea was becoming more and more appealing. He couldn't wait to see the look on Tobi's face when they faced off.

Did the shinobi believe in the supernatural? Deidara hoped so.

As far as Tobi knew, Deidara was a fucking ghost.

* * *

Madara walked into the dark basement. The chairs circled an empty platform. The council was gone. The three units had arrived before he could.

The man cursed to himself quietly and sat in the closest chair. He fumbled around in his pockets until he found a radio.

He clicked the button and listened for the other end to pick up.

There was static. "Yes, sir?"

It was Danzou mouthing the words, but the voice was different. He spoke very quickly into the receiver, "There are refugees in the cliffs. Elderly, infants, the sick. Those that chose not to, or could not evacuate. There are structures built into the rock by the faces. Among them are the two current leaders of Konoha. Koharu and Homura. They are being escorted by three ANBU units."

"What do you want us to do, Tobi-san?"

"Blow them off the mountain. Report back to me when every one of them is dead."

There was silence over the line. Danzou walked out of the shadowed room and into the hallway. He walked into the stairwell and to the ground floor. There was silence in the building. There was silence in the village. Root was running while Rain was preparing.

As Danzou, he scaled the walls of the building to the Hokage's office and swung onto the roof. Such an action would have been easier using the false limbs he had as Tobi, but he could manage on his own.

When Tsunade was Hokage, she was often unorthodox. The broken windows he flew by reminded him of her antics. The rooftop was her favorite place to reside, especially when he was seeking her out to sign a paper or fill out a form. The man recalled the last gathering on this roof. It was when Tsunade gave her farewell speech to the village. It was vacant now. Their shouts of praise and support were a faded echo in his memory.

Tsunade was just like her grandfather. The First was to blame for so much. It would be sweet revenge when he killed her. He could revive the village in the image he desired, rather than the cowardly life the First chose. Power would return to the land of Fire.

Madara leaned on the railing, facing the mountains. The First stared at him with those cold eyes. He knew those features too well. Before they had been pinned against one another, Madara had once held respect for that man. He had the disposition of a just leader. There were traits between the two of them that drew them together. It was too bad that they had to be fighting against one another.

But when Madara thought of it any other way, it didn't fit them. It was as if they had been meant to fight one another. The Uchiha and the Hokage were destined to battle for power.

He watched that face. He had lived far past what he should have. He hadn't aged, but neither had the First. His face was forever chiseled into that mountain. He seemed to live eternally as well. But soon that mountain would be wiped clean. Soon those eyes would be shut forever.

…

Tsunade was panting lightly.

"I hope I'm not too late."

She shoved her way into the grand hall where rows and rows of chairs were oriented. Not a soul in the room.

She kicked a chair and it flew into the others. The noise rebound off the tall ceiling.

Where to next?

She gripped the thick folder under her arm and ran out of the room. Her heels clattered as she turned the corner too quickly, skidding a few feet before regaining her balance. Tsunade flipped her tied hair out of her face and was met by a gray sky.

The village was empty. Where were the soldiers? Where was the fighting? Tsunade readied her hand, just in case there was a trap set for her. She listened to nothingness. The only thing in the air was the sound of her shoes. The streets looked like they hadn't been walked on in weeks. But it wasn't a deserted feeling there. It was out of preparation. Anticipation of something worse to come.

The only other place they could be was the shelters on the cliff's side. How would she get past the Root? She had never considered that. They were probably given orders by Danzou to kill her on sight. How would she get close enough to talk to them? Her plan was looking more and more ridiculous.

The woman gazed at the stone faces. The shelters looked small from the ground, but they were well fortified. They were far off and not too noticeable. They could house hundreds. The villagers there were probably locked up tight, too afraid to step outdoors.

She finished exhaling in a casual rhythm when she heard a noise. Her eyes were fixed on the mountain.

She saw the explosion before she heard it. Dust and debris cascaded down like a slow rain. One of the structures dropped. The sound hit her bones with a harsh, low pop.

Four more explosions went off like fireworks.

Those people… All those people…

Falling.

Tsunade couldn't look away. She watched as the faces of Fire Country's Hokage's were blown up. The boulders fell upon the buildings nearby, bringing them down in an earthquake.

The sequence of delayed thunderclaps replayed the scene in her mind.

Her village.

Her heritage.

Wiped clean.

Madara watched the eyes of the First crack. The crater in his face sent deep trenches along the seams of wrinkles and details in the sculpture. It fell apart in moments, sending a hail of stone onto the world below. Each Hokage tumbled in the same way, one by one.

The monument to power through generations, obliterated. The rivalry between the Hokages and the Uchiha, finally finished.

The clouds dispersed and he found himself staring into a set of eyes much like the First's.

It was Tsunade.

Her face, though split down the middle, had not been shaken to pieces.

She held her head high, waiting for the moment when she could breathe again without choking. The streets were filled with a flush of dust clouds. She coughed, wrapping her collar around her mouth.

Her eyes, though tired and dry, tore through Madara. She was the last one. Out of all the faces, the Fifth was still there.

There was a loud beep from his radio.

Far below, Tsunade heard it. She sprinted to the wall of the Hokage's office. She couldn't be sure, but that beep didn't sound friendly.

"We've found the two council members. The Root got them out before the second explosions hit."

Madara sounded agitated. "What happened. They should have detonated at the same time."

"There was a malfunction." There were a few seconds of silence. "—Early detonation." He was cutting in and out. They were moving in the tunnels. "But—nowhere to go. They—cornered."

"Keep them stationary. Don't strike until I get there."

There was confirmation of some sort over the line.

Root had the advantage still. Tobi's army of Rain nin was dwindling. It wouldn't take much for all the invaders to be killed. An enraged platoon of Root would cause more damage than a calm one. Now they would be actively hunting the Rain nin. Madara was almost certain that the person he just spoke to would be dead in minutes along with that team as soon as they ran across the council's guard.

It was time to move in.

Madara looked at the mike in his hand. There was no need for a physical trail. He cast it onto the floor and it caught fire. The mic sizzled and the cord coiled like a dying snake.

He left it there, leaping into the smoke from the fires below. It was spreading.

Tsunade watched him vanish over rooftops. She never imagined Danzou had been capable of such action. He had held the appearance of a cripple so successfully that his treachery was still hard for her to believe, even with the evidence in her hands.

She followed him through the crumbling streets. Not only did she have to avoid Root, but now Rain… If they found her, her chances were slim. But, it was a risk she was willing to take. Danzou couldn't get his way this time. He reached the mountain, leaping effortlessly from the top of a building onto the mountain's face. He proceeded to run up, though the chakra in his weak leg was poor. He reached the gaping hole where a shelter had been and disappeared inside.

She was just about to join him in the race, but a pack of Root appeared between her and the cliff. She slowed to a stop. There were too many. If it came to strength, Tsunade won hands down, but their teamwork and speed could easily get the best of her.

They were patrolling the streets, looking for any survivors.

The woman clenched her fist. She would have to wait for them to pass.

…

Danzou walked along a dark corridor. There were misshapen figures lining the walls. At one point in the hall, the light from the collapsed ceiling was cast upon them. All around him were the corpses of Rain nin. Their deformed states suggested the number of cruel jutsu cast upon them.

The Root agents needed no help in protecting Konoha from Ame's petty forces.

Danzou saw one standing near another opening to the sky. It was a masked figure, watching him approach patiently. The shinobi stepped aside without qualm, allowing him to pass. He walked by the three teams he had assigned to the council. They were all accounted for, waiting outside of a closed door.

Danzou gave them a nod of approval. They all relaxed, looking at one another.

"You are the three squads that have been hand picked by me. Your loyalty has no faults. Any less from you and you would be dead." It sounded like a joke. "You have all sworn to the utmost secrecy. But this is the moment of truth."

The old man reached for the knob, then stopped.

He looked behind him; his eye shot fear through their hearts. Suddenly they couldn't breath. There was a constricting aura, suffocating them. Danzou gripped the knob.

"No one comes in."

* * *

Sakura couldn't run anymore. Her legs were burning. Thanks to the aftereffects of that drug, her muscles had worn out faster than ever. It was ridiculous.

Of course, what did all of this spare time she found allow her to do? It let her think about Sasuke. Sasuke. Sasuke.

He wouldn't go after her. He had done many things for her, but this was his limit. When she was dying in the snow, yes, he saved her. But that was when the choice was between her and Naruto. Now that it came down to her and Itachi, she knew who won. She knew that her petty feelings for him were nothing compared to his desire for revenge. Itachi won again.

Sakura stumbled against a tree. She was too tired, physically and mentally to continue.

She slowly sat.

"Unbelievable."

She listened to the world around her. She could hear numbers of creatures that had decided to emerge in the morning warmth. Her skin reflected it nicely.

It would have been perfect had not her conscious ruined the sun with Naruto's last, pained expression. Sakura had chosen to save Naruto. She had left Sasuke, but she couldn't even go on her own. She was too weak to even catch up to him. Sasuke had been right. She wouldn't last a minute with the Akatsuki.

She had been on the losing team for a while now. She lost against Sasuke and got captured. She lost against the Akatsuki and almost died. She lost against the Kyuubi and got poisoned with chakra. She lost against her own fears and was separated from Naruto. She lost against some stupid drug and was now sitting here, incapacitated.

Oh, she forgot one. She had gained a friend. Sasuke. But when it came down to it, she lost him too. She lost against her own stupidity and something broke. Those precious moments were gone.

She did all that and now that she made one clear decision in her life, she couldn't even fight. She couldn't follow the Akatsuki and protect Naruto. Sasuke was wrong… the shinobi fighting in Rain wouldn't be able to slow the Akatsuki down. Naruto was going to be killed before anyone even knew he was alive.

She couldn't save Naruto and she couldn't stop Sasuke.

Sakura leaned her head back, brushing it into the rough bark.

"Useless…"

Completely useless.

How had she ever managed to kill Sasori? How had she become a Jounin and in the ANBU and Tsunade's prized pupil?

She was completely useless.

"You're looking sour."

Sakura jerked back to her senses. She could feel chakra nearby. How did she not see it before?

Sakura looked at the trees. Where had the voice come from? She peered until she saw a stiff silhouette standing across from her. He was thin as a pole, unhealthily so. He took a quivering step.

The light made his clammy skin glisten. His matted grey hair fell across his left eye mixed with strange strands of long black.

It was the man from the bar.

Sakura was on her feet in seconds. She readied for an attack and jerked violently when he finally moved.

The man touched the bridge of his nose, pushing back a pair of circular glasses. He tilted his head ever so slightly and his thin fingers slid off his face, dropping at his side. He looked like a twisted rag doll with glass eyes. There was a glint from those spectacles.

When he relaxed his neck, the reflection disappeared and she could see behind them.

Though she could only see one eye of the two, she could distinguish a strange quality in the dull color of the iris.

There was a subtle insanity in that eye.

It longed to create chaos.

* * *

Nut

Madara just makes me angry. Whenever a problem arises, he's got his own way of settling things… He's evil!!

Sai almost had a run in with a dangerous character. I wonder what Itachi was thinking when his brother's look alike came waltzing into town. ("My, my, what interesting choices, little brother…")

Sakura is in a tight spot now! (Damn, we're in a tight spot. Thank you, _O Brother Where Art Thou_.) Finally the identity of their pursuer will be revealed… Hehehe…

**Any guesses at who has been following them? Last chance!**

Another quick question: Do you all pay attention to the chapter titles and the quotes? Or do you skim over them. I try to make sure the titles go along with what happened in the chap. Do you think I succeed? Also, the playlists? Do you use them at all?

Next Chapter – What is Coveted

**(It's the chapter you've been waiting for!)**

Don't your eyes seek out the things you want?

_Hannibal Lector, _Silence of the Lambs


	8. What is Coveted

Playlist: Micro Cuts (Muse), Breath (Superchick), The Day the World Went Away (Nine Inch Nails), I Never Knew You (Cage), Where Is My Mind? (Pixies), and Corner of Your Heart (Ingrid Michaelson).

* * *

Don't your eyes seek out the things you want?

_Hannibal Lector, _Silence of the Lambs

* * *

…

What is Coveted

…

* * *

In the light he looked very frail. Sickly. There was a light shaking to his movements. He looked like he might fall over at any moment. Even so, she could tell there was more than just a flimsy man before her. She felt mysteriously vulnerable, like she shouldn't get near him again.

It was beyond certainty now. He had been the one to drug her.

Sakura growled. "What do you want."

The man raised his hands up. "Nothing. Nothing… I was just curious."

"Curious?" She scoffed. "Were you curious if your drug had worked or not?"

He had been advancing slowly until now. He quirked his head.

Sakura stepped to the side, away from the tree. She could outrun him easily. Even if he was a shinobi, his body was clearly being inhibited by something. Maybe an old injury or sickness, it didn't matter just as long as she could run faster than him.

He stood there calmly among the trees. He didn't look nervous or guilty, but Sakura knew lies could be just as powerful as truth. It was standard procedure to hide your emotions. This man was no different.

"If you're curious, I'm doing just fine. You can go back to what you were doing."

The man smiled, his eyebrows rose innocently. "I'm glad. I'm glad you're alright. But I wasn't doing much." He slowly shrugged. For some reason his left shoulder twitched. He looked ready to spring. He was waiting for her to inquire more. He was waiting for her to bait him.

Sakura stayed perfectly still. That sinister feeling was rising from him the longer he remained there.

It was the same energy that she had come to fear. It was the same one that had watched her from the woods at the bed and breakfast, that spoke to Shizuka and erased her memory, and that tried to drug her in the bar…

She was ready to run. That dark chakra was leaking towards her. This was the man that had been following them. She wanted to sprint as far and as fast as she could.

She demanded again. "What do you want?"

He started moving again. She circled, never thinking to look away from that one exposed right eye. Behind the glass pane it was so blank. Gray and dead.

"I've been wanting to see you, Sakura-chan."

A chill ran down her spine.

He reached up, brushing the black clump of hair away from the gray and pushing his glasses into place on the bridge of his nose.

That small movement triggered a flood of memories. Where had she seen that smirk before? Where had she seen those dark, inquisitive eyes? Gray hair, glasses… She hadn't seen him in years, but it had to be.

"Kabuto."

He tipped his head to the side. "I'm flattered that you recognize me, Sakura-chan. It has been quite a while."

His pace quickened for a split second and she jumped back. "Stay back."

"Sakura." His hands were half out to her. She briefly remembered the way Sasuke reached. It was identical.

"Get away from me."

Even the way he put his disappointed hands down was the same. What was this man?

"I'm sorry but I can't do that."

He leapt forward faster than she anticipated and her counter was too slow. His hand caught her side in a large swipe and she felt chakra enter her system.

She swung behind a tree and his follow-through struck the trunk, breaking the old wood into thousands and thousands of splinters. Sakura got out of his range and lost him in the mess of branches and shadows. The damaged tree creaked and tumbled into a neighboring one. It stopped, cradled in the twine.

Her green eyes scanned the forest with a hand holding her side. The chakra had penetrated deeply, paralyzing her hip and her thigh. Luckily it didn't hit her knee. She could still stand. This man wasn't trying to kill her. He could have easily ruptured her kidney or disrupted the spinal column. She was stunned, but not in danger.

"I don't want to fight you. And I'd much prefer that you stopped trying."

The kunoichi felt him behind her and prepared a chakra enhanced fist. It collided with his hand and instead of shattering, he threw her attack aside and they collided.

"You can't win."

She pushed off his torso with her foot and he was shoved back. Her right shoulder was numb and that arm hung. She couldn't use jutsu, but power was coming back to her leg. The effects didn't last long. If she got a running start, she could use doppelgangers to escape.

_Three, two, one_.

She bolted.

The trees flew by.

She had nowhere to go. Naruto was too far off. Sasuke was probably already gone.

Her hand came to life.

"_Kage Bushin no Jutsu!_"

Six other Sakura's appeared and split into other directions.

Where could she run?

No one was going to come.

She was the only one here.

_Why_ was she running?

She had to fight.

Why was she running!?

She heard one puff in the distance. He was closing in already.

All of the clones stopped in their tracks. She used them to cast walls and walls of Genjutsu. A small black symbol appeared on her hand. It had five rings for the five layers.

She _was _weakened by the drugs. Even if it was a small handicap, it was a handicap all the same. She had to limit his movements. If she wanted to save her energy that was the only way.

He broke through the first wall and the outer ring dissolved from her skin. It hadn't even begun, and he had taken it down.

Sakura stood still. Her clones gathered and they all walked to where Kabuto had fallen.

His body was slouched on the ground. His head turned, but his eye was closed. He was still fighting the Genjutsu.

The second and third ring vanished with a small prick.

Sakura scrambled for her kunai. The metal was cold in her fingers.

Finally she could end her torment.

She touched the tip to the back of his neck. He wouldn't feel a thing.

"Oh, Sakura-chan. That was too easy."

Her body was frozen.

She struggled to look at the ring in ink. It faded slowly into her skin. She hadn't noticed the last ring break.

He hadn't made any movements. He hadn't formed any seals. She didn't even feel a surge of chakra intrude. She was just stuck.

He ducked under the kunai and lifted his head. It looked heavier than it should.

"That was much too easy."

He straightened his legs, rolling up. It looked like a stretch. Sakura could almost see the knots in his shoulders. His hand went lazily to the pouch on his side. From it he produced a small vial. Sakura recognized the shape. It was commonly used to dispense antidotes and such medicines quickly.

He flicked off the cap on the end. Underneath was a sliver of silver. A needle.

"I'm going to need you to relax for a while, Sakura-chan."

He stuck it into her neck.

Sakura felt the vial's contents drain into her like a fog in her mind. It wiped her worries clear from her mind. In seconds she found herself drifting into a harmless sleep.

* * *

Sasuke's hand burned where she had been in his grasp. It was stretched out, seeking her skin again. She ran into the trees and out of his eyes. He watched her chakra fade further and further away until it took too much effort to see. He remained a statue trapped by her words.

_"I would rather die for Naruto than live for you."_

He couldn't bring himself to move. He just stood, waiting for it to dissolve into a nightmare. He waited for her to come back. He waited to see her face. He waited for her to choose him.

His eyes fell to the ground where she had stood. The grass was slowly rising to its comfortable stance. It swayed passively. The sun burned his neck. The wind was silenced.

Her final expression was like always when he was near: flushed and hurt.

He remembered her face around Naruto. She was bold, cheery, pouting, always smiling, always laughing, and happy. Why? Why Naruto?

He was glad she had left.

Sasuke's hand slowly lowered. His eyes refocused on the world around him. Her trail was gone, just the faint smell of spring where she had been. He shifted his weight as to take a step, but didn't. His foot wanted to lunge forward, but instead he dragged it back, pivoting to face the house again.

He didn't remember leaving it. When had his feet taken him away from the house? Or was it Sakura? When she cried for Naruto, had he run after her? He couldn't remember. How had he gotten to this point? How had it come to this? When had it become so difficult?

No, it had been difficult from the beginning.

Yet he had hoped.

After abandoning Konoha, he never thought that he would see Sakura again. He had resigned himself to hatred. Orochimaru was his vehicle to defeating his brother. When that path became obsolete, he tried on his own. Why had it taken him so long? He was afraid to answer. Was it because he knew Naruto was involved? Was it because he knew that he would have to face a neglected past other than one centered around Itachi? Sasuke had avoided Naruto for all of those years. He had avoided the one sure way to find Itachi because fate was sure to lead him to the crossroads.

He had made his decision and so had she. She chose Naruto. She chose Konoha. He chose Itachi. He chose revenge. No matter how close they had become… No matter how angry he felt… That was how it had to be.

They had known somewhere deep inside that their paths couldn't be the same forever.

Sasuke moved forward. He had no choice. Itachi was right in front of him. He knew the way.

The Uchiha stronghold had been a refuge of his when he and Hebi traveled. He would check on it on occasion out of respect. It seemed ridiculous, but the stronghold had a drawing power to it. It made one curious. It made one question. It _was _fitting to end it all there.

Sasuke looked at the house once more. Naruto's chakra trail was faint and distorted. The Akatsuki must have used a transportation jutsu. His presence seemed almost torn from existence. Itachi's tracks, however, were plain as day. As if they were laid out just for him…

He took a step. Then two. What choice did he have, really? It was going to come down to this eventually.

His eyes shut. He could see well enough with his other senses. He didn't need to know where he was running, as long as it was toward his brother.

Sasuke let the footsteps lead him.

* * *

Sakura's eyes opened before she could move. There was someone sitting not far away with a travel kit of medical instruments, cleaning patiently. Her body pulsed with fearful adrenalin for a moment. Her chakra surged, ready to flee as soon as her legs could move.

"Ah…" The man's head turned. "You've woken up."

The minute his face was in view her newly realized terror flew through her. She could tell where her legs were, but they didn't respond. She tried to lift them but the command wasn't received.

He seemed to know what she was doing. "I wouldn't move yet. You are very numb and could easily injure yourself. That would be most inconvenient for me."

He stood, walking to her with intentional sluggishness. He had that little curled smile on his face and determined eyes. He was twirling a small corked vial in his fingers. She watched the liquid swirl slowly. It was thick and not quite as transparent as water.

"Do you know what this is?" His fingers stopped. The liquid whirled madly in the small tube. He held it in front of her so she could watch. Without waiting for an answer, Kabuto took out a syringe and stabbed the black cork. The alcohol soaked cotton ball hit her arm like a splash of cold water. His skilled hands had the needle hovering over the crook of her elbow in a flash.

Sakura cringed. She felt her face move, but whatever drug he had given her was effectively cutting off her control over the rest of her body. Helplessness made her gag. Her heart, though she was hardly aware of it, was beating erratically.

He removed his hand from her arm with a chuckle. "Are you frightened?" His clammy hand grabbed her wrist. She felt it, painfully so. "You can't move, Sakura-chan. What kind of position does this put you in? You don't have the means to destroy the toxin slowing you down, do you…?" He leaned toward her, his shadow covering her face. "Tsunade's prized student can do nothing against me." He pulled her arm a little and an agonizing prickling sensation crawled up. It was all she could be aware of.

Suddenly a glint focused her attention. It was the needle.

"This is a weak Asphyxiant based liquid. I spent a few years formulating it. It proves quite useful during interrogations." He flicked the tip and she heard it ring. Her senses were wide awake. Why couldn't she move? "With your blood moving so wonderfully, I have no doubt that you'll feel the results in seconds. I have no control over how violently it affects the body. I could adjust the dosage, but the composition is already so delicate. We wouldn't want an air bubble stopping your heart, now would we?" He smiled pleasantly. "I'll tell you something I don't usually tell my experiments… There is no cure. There is no neutralizing agent. I promise that even when tell you these things ahead of time, you will plead for help anyway. But you don't believe that, do you?" She felt something graze her collar bone. His free hand brushed her skin. She wanted to check, but her eyes were on those reflecting glasses. She watched for the moment when they would turn again on her arm. "I think I'll wait to give you this. The effects won't last over ten minutes, especially considering how quickly you woke up. We still have plenty of time until our guest arrives." He was incredibly amused by her wide, anticipating stare. "I'd hate for the fun to start without him."

Sakura tried to calm herself. It was only provoking him. "You're after Sasuke." It wasn't a question.

He grinned again. "Yes." He lowered the syringe from her sight, resting his arm at his side. "Sasuke-kun took over Orochimaru-sama. I have come to free Orochimaru-sama and give him the vessel he deserves."

"Who would that be?"

His eyebrows scrunched. "Me, of course." That thick strand of black hair in the front lurched a little, swaying and blowing in the still air. It seemed to have a mind of its own.

Sakura could feel her head adjust as she tried to shake it. Her fingers twitched. "Orochimaru is dead."

"Oh, no," Kabuto grabbed her face. He pulled her in and strain clawed at her neck muscles. "He is very much alive." His thumb ran down a loose piece of pink hair as he hummed a laugh.

Sakura stopped breathing to avoid taking in his sickliness. She had never seen him this close, even in the bar. His face was pale and coated in a constant mucid sweat. Even when her chakra was deprived, she could feel the sinister air around him. It burned her skin to be touched by something that twisted.

This thing before her wasn't Kabuto. He wasn't capable of that kind of evil.

It was Orochimaru.

"You realize it now, I see it." He looked very proud. "I possess a piece of Orochimaru-sama. I am what remains of the body Sasuke-kun killed." His hand tightened on her jaw. "It almost pains me now to use you like this, Sakura. You have received nothing but agony and nightmares when it comes to Sasuke-kun." His eyes feigned sympathy. "He only ever insulted you. He hurt your friends. He abandoned your village. He left _you_. Even when you said that you loved him, he turned away. He never cared about any of you. Yet you poured everything into saving him. When you finally found him again he killed one of your precious teammates. Hidaka Akane didn't deserve such a cruel fate. Fire… What a horrible way to die…"

Sea foam green eyes grew wider. "H-how did you know…?"

He shook his head slowly. "I have watched you for some time. You have suffered so much. I wish I didn't have to cause you more pain." He pouted his lip, false regret lining his every word. "Sasuke-kun doesn't deserve such devotion."

"I—"

"You have only ever loved him… and he has never returned your affections." His thumb slid under her eye and he held her cheek. "Even now, as his companion, he doesn't even acknowledge you. You are just as annoying to him as you first were." His words stung more than the tingling in her body. The paralysis was fading, sending out waves of pain. The feeling was so familiar. Her body was tightening up, as if preparing for something she had long forgotten.

She realized too late what was coming.

The chakra of the Kyuubi that had remained dormant all of this time was reacting to something. It expanded and collapsed along her vertebrae. Dozens of small balls were forming. They reached through her, gravitating toward the dangerous stench of energy hovering like a storm cloud around Kabuto.

They were gathering all of their forsaken strength to release upon her.

"I see what is inside of you, Sakura. I can help you. Orochimaru-sama can keep you safe."

The first one ruptured. It wrapped around her, smothering her thoughts.

"You can be released from your pain and freed from Sasuke."

She couldn't speak. The first shockwave set off those next to it.

"You don't have to suffer anymore. Orochimaru-sama has inside of him a hidden gift. He has been saving it for you and others in pain."

The numbness had left too soon.

The chakra went off like cannon fire through her bones.

* * *

It was just like he remembered as a child. The structures were almost identical to those in the Uchiha compound. It looked like home. The roads were open, abandoned shops and carts lined the streets. It was cozy, even in abandonment. It was home.

His father brought them as a family once.

_"Tou-san?"_

There was one structure in particular that Sasuke had never been allowed into. At the time, Itachi was also too young. It was miraculous that he remembered. Maybe it was just something about the place that made him recall it.

_"Can we go inside, Tou-san?"_

The center of the landmark. A building above the rest.

_"No. That is a sacred place." Stern. Cold._

It didn't seem as tall as before. But it was the same building for sure.

_A young boy with silky black hair ran to the building. It was haunted in his eyes. It was cursed. Ghosts and nightmares were inside. Monsters and demons._

_His hair flipped back and forth as he ran. But it wasn't through his eyes that the weeds and grass split. It was a child much younger. Following. Chasing after. He didn't want to be alone._

_The older boy placed his hand on the door. He pushed it open._

_Their parents didn't know._

_The older one went in, glancing for an instant at the child, beckoning him to come in. Short legs, small hands, stubby fingers. Too old to be a toddler. A child. Too old to forget. Too young to understand. He went inside where there was no light. The air was thick. It was cold. There was a thrill upon entering. If their parents knew… there would be trouble._

_The older boy wasn't inside, was he?_

_The wind kicked up and the door slowly closed. He wasn't frightened. His brother wouldn't be. He wasn't scared. The light was a thin line in the gap. When the door closed, his light died._

_But he was alone?_

_"Nii-san…" _

_It was dark._

"_Where are you?"_

_He was afraid._

Sasuke saw the open door. He imagined it from the inside, but refused to enter.

"_N-Nii-san?"_

He took in a breath.

_The child fell to his knees. It was dark. It was cold. He was alone._

_"Nii-san…" He rubbed his eyes. Big tears covered his face._

_No one answered. He cried aloud and searched with his hands. But no one was there. No one was answering._

_He cried louder. Louder._

_He didn't want to be alone._

_"Sasuke?"_

His eyes shut when the sun came out from a cloud. He was startled by its return.

_"Kaa-san?" He stumbled to the door as it creaked open. Light hit his reddened face and he grabbed at his mother. She wrapped her arms around him and lifted him off the ground._

_"How did you get in?"_

_He continued to cry. He was so glad to have been found. He was so glad he wasn't alone._

_"Itachi!"_

_His eyes fell upon his brother. He was watching with a little worry. His face was flushed. Had he been crying as well?_

_"You found him!" Itachi panted quietly beside his mother, staring at Sasuke. "I'm sorry, Sasuke."_

_Their mother glared at one, then moved to the other. "I asked you to watch him, Itachi!" She gently placed Sasuke down. His little legs pulled away from the ground to a moment, stubborn to let go. But when her glare intensified, he stretched them out and stood on his own. "You're lucky you didn't get locked in. We told you not to go inside!"_

_The boy looked at his older brother whose eyes were stuck on him. They were puffy. The older boy dried his face again, just in case. He tried to watch his younger brother with dignity, but it was so false. The baby saw right through. He reached for his brother and was embraced._

_"I'm sorry."_

_Sasuke held on for a moment, smiling._

_Their mother sighed loudly. Both looked up at her pouting face. "Let's not tell your father."_

_The boys laughed aloud and ran to their mother. With Sasuke carried on an arm and Itachi grasping her finger, they walked back to their father who was waiting._

_A family._

The grass was taller. It swelled up to his knees, catching his clothing. He could almost see where he and Itachi had played side by side. But that was in the past. No one was here. No one was here to love him, to protect him. All of them were dead, leaving behind a scar deeper than fathomable. All that was left was his hatred for Itachi.

A part of him _had _died. But they were not the only ones that lived in his memory.

He remembered the kids he played with as a child. The classmates, the teachers, the friends. Those people were with him even after the massacre. They still followed after him. They still wanted to be with him. They were still there. They were probably in Rain Country, fighting to protect their village.

Sakura would find them. That was where she belonged. She would be safe with them. She would be happier with them. When Naruto was safe, she would be glad. She would probably cry and he would take advantage of the moment and hold her. But she loved him too. Time had that effect on people. When you spend years with them, no matter how obnoxious and annoying they are, love forms. You become attached to their faces, their reactions… You become attached to their feelings for you. After spending so much time pointing out the bad, it becomes mundane, leaving only the good.

But, realistically, it wouldn't take that long to form such an attachment. It could take a few days, or a week, or a month, or a few months. It didn't matter. People are different. People react differently. When you are lonely, it is easy to be drawn in by a voice or a face. It's easy to remember the people that loved you. It's easy for those attachments to resurface and become stronger. When you are alone… When you are lost… When you are in the dark, a speck of light is brighter than a thousand suns.

Where had his light gone?

She had relied on him all their lives as children and it left a small mark. Every day as a team, every nagging comment, every plea, every time she said his name, every time she would glance at him with affectionate eyes she was leaving behind a small mark. She left an attachment where she could fit in perfectly in the corner of his heart.

Sasuke turned slowly from the building.

Without a cohesive thought, he started walking.

His legs dropped down, step by step. Faster… and faster. His arms swayed.

There were paths before him pointing out different directions in his mind. Pointing this way and that, but somewhere along the way a thread was tied around the roads, tugging them, wrenching them all toward the same spot. It was one thread, an old thread that had been reawakened. It was a voice and a face that had been with him for years, persistent and annoying, and it had gotten strong.

He was running, unable to say aloud where he was going, unable to think it clearly.

He could only follow the thread that he had become unknowingly fixed upon.

* * *

"Look, Sakura."

It stopped.

Sakura's mouth was open, the blood curdling scream emanating from her stuck in her lungs.

She stopped.

Kabuto stared into her quivering viridian orbs with a morbid smile. He inclined his face towards hers. He was an inch from her.

"Is it gone?"

She croaked. Her hands lifted, holding loosely onto his hand cupping her face. She couldn't speak. A mix of disgust and elation formed a picture on her features.

"Look at me, Sakura."

She found his eyes. Both of them.

He had pulled away the curtain of black, revealing half of another man's face. It was white. That lip curled higher towards his ear. His eye was slanted and narrow; the pupil within was a slit. A green, yellow ice iris reached for her very soul, sending her into a new found repugnance. She felt vomit rise in her mouth, suddenly reminded of the smell of a decaying corpse.

Her hands dropped, crumpling into her body. His grip remained on her face. He wasn't shaking out of sickliness. He was fighting for control. She looked at his neck and shoulder and down to the hand holding the syringe. It was all white, meshing his pale skin with scales and ridges of rotting flesh. It was eating him like a disease.

"Orochimaru-sama has freed you."

Sakura tugged her head away. She crawled as far as she could, dragging her legs along, and took in fresh air; realizing now how heavy Orochimaru's chakra was on her.

She hit a tree and stood using it for support.

Kabuto was poised, observing inquisitively. Sakura found her voice.

"_Get away from me!!_"

She clung to the tree weakly. Her legs were stiff and clattering beneath her. It was a miracle she could stay upright.

Kabuto knew this. He walked toward her casually. "You cannot escape." His last word hissed.

He was at her side before she could blink. She tried to push off, but a super human strength had possessed him. Kabuto gripped her shoulder with a bone-shattering intensity and threw her down onto the grass. Her head rebound against the semi-soft earth and she rolled onto her stomach, pushing up so that she might rise again.

Kabuto didn't have to move fast to catch her before she could. He kicked her side, launching her until she skid to a halt.

"You are weak, Sakura-chan."

His foot was on her shoulder, digging the joint into the ground. She cried out as her collar bone bent past its limit and snapped.

Her body went limp. The only sounds between them were her deep breaths.

"It is no wonder that Sasuke-kun abandoned you." Kabuto's voice was slowly transforming into his beloved master's. "You are not worth the waste of air."

She heard him shuffle, kneeling by her.

Kabuto's expression was almost sad. He was now the puppet ruled by an evil power he had so foolishly imbedded in himself. He watched her eyes go from one side of his face to the other. Even when petrified, they were fiery and bright. They were warm and healing. Kabuto didn't know the meaning of those eyes. He couldn't help but stare. Curiosity was his nature.

Sakura's collar was bruising nicely. Her shoulder was quaking and he was sure that if she sat up it would sag. He imagined the contorted face she would make and smiled. He had time before Sasuke arrived. He had time to play.

His wrinkled, mismatched hand curled around her slender neck. He lifted her effortlessly and she struggled. He squeezed for a moment and her heart started pumping manically again. She tore at his skin with her nails and he dropped her, punching her in the gut before she fell even an inch. She was on the ground again.

Kabuto landed on her, his knee shoved into her stomach, further removing any breath she could take. Blood surged, panicked, under his hands as he unfolded her arm. Clean or not, he shoved the needle into her and the viscous material poured into her veins.

Kabuto got to his feet and loomed over her as she writhed.

It spread through her like wild fire. She couldn't breathe. There wasn't enough oxygen in the air. She gasped and gasped, but there wasn't any to be found. She clawed at her throat.

There was no air.

Her chest swelled and throbbed, but nothing came in. She couldn't hear the wheezing or the gurgling she was making. She was only conscious of the fact that there was nothing in her lungs.

"_PLEASE!!!_"

Her wild eyes sought Kabuto out. She found her way to her knees and tore at his legs.

"_MAKE IT STOP!!!_"

An idea hit him and Kabuto reached down to her.

"I told you—"

"_MAKE IT STOP!!!_"

"—I couldn't help you." His hand rested on her head as it went back and forth with the movements of her clenching diaphragm. "It won't last long. Just be patient."

"_HELP ME!!!_"

His fingers slowly slid into her hair and knotted themselves there. Tight.

He slung her to the side into the trunk of a tree. What air she had gathered to wail was thrust out in a huff.

"Should I just kill you?"

Her body sank to the ground. His fingers felt blood. Maybe he had pulled too hard.

"_YES!!! PLEA—_"

He swung her again and she slid over the medical tools he had laid out. He dragged her over them and they shredded her.

He let go and she shot away from him. When she stopped, her form slacked. Her hands were wrapped around her stomach, punching the muscle with a weak fist. She was trying to force in breath.

It didn't matter. She wasn't lacking breath. Her body was just spending it faster. With her blood filled with Asphyxiant, her body couldn't take in the oxygen properly. It was enough to suffocate her, but no enough to make her pass out or die. The perfect balance. It would only last for ten minutes, but it would be the longest ten minutes of Sakura's life.

There was no possibility of death, but the experience was just as realistic for Sakura.

"I… I can't…. Please… I can't brea—…"

She curled, punching her stomach with tears streaming off her face. She wasn't even aware that she was sobbing or that the hyperventilation was only going to cause more torture. She wasn't aware that her shallow pants were louder than her cries.

"Make it stop…"

Her body was on fire. It demanded oxygen. It demanded energy. She couldn't stop breathing. She couldn't slow down. If she did, she would die.

But there just wasn't enough.

"Finally your true self is exposed." Kabuto followed the path of beaten grass to his medical tools strewn every which way. "Your needy, selfish, pathetic side…" He picked up a scalpel. "When I found you, you ran. You were thinking of who you could beg to for help. And now…" The shinobi took hold of her ankle and yanked her toward him. She whimpered, but continued to hit her diaphragm. "…now you are even begging for someone to kill you."

He bent down and wrapped his arm under her, holding her head in his hand.

There was a flicker of chakra in the distance. Kabuto could name that confident signature anywhere. Sasuke was coming. He was moving at a regular pace, not alarmed or concerned. It was clear he had not picked up on Sakura's disrupted flow of chakra. Kabuto had already masked his above necessity.

Kabuto paused for a moment, staring at Sakura's face. He placed the blade to her cheek and dragged it down slowly. A line of red followed and dripped off her chin onto her shirt.

"I wonder what will happen if I tamper with you more…"

The silver glinted on her pale skin when he put it to her neck. He pressed. A bead of blood swelled harmlessly.

"What will _he_ do?" He replaced the blade with his thumb and rubbed the blood, feeling her pitter-pattering pulse.

Sakura's glazed eyes saw nothing. She could feel Orochimaru's sinister presence tickling her skin. She was trying her best to keep breathing, conserve energy, and resist the temptation to shove Kabuto away. He put the edge at the collar of her shirt. He slid down, cutting it slowly. Her silky skin was exposed, the netted shirt was all that was left, but Sakura chose not to notice. When he reached halfway down her torso he stopped with a sigh.

"You're no fun, Sakura."

Sasuke's pace changed abruptly. He was running with incredible urgency toward them now.

He had seen Sakura's chakra.

Kabuto laughed, putting both arms under her. He picked her up and turned to where Sasuke would soon appear. The pressure his arms put on her body felt like every nerve was being stabbed by hot iron needles. It sent her through new bouts of nausea and she screeched.

"_DON'T TOUCH ME!!!_" Her voice was raspy; her lips were torn and bleeding. The air whistling in and out dried her tongue.

She tried to wiggle from his hold, but her attempts were wasted. Kabuto lifted her a little higher, letting her slide further into him and squeezed.

She roared in pain and fell limp. Her head lolled back.

"Sakura-chan? Sakura." Kabuto inspected her. She was still alive. Had she passed out by chance? "Sakura, I need you to listen to me. I have some very important things to discuss with Sasuke-kun and I need you to keep quiet for a while."

Sakura could feel Orochimaru infesting her. He was sucking all of the energy she had tried to protect. He was eating her away. Those prickling fingers stretched across her body, poisoning her chakra systems. It was dense and heavy in the parts touching Kabuto directly. How had he survived this long without being taken over?

Kabuto frowned. Maybe she _had_ passed out. He jostled her and Sakura wailed. "Ah, you're awake. Sasuke-kun is almost here, we don't have time for games. Sakura-chan, I know the lights are growing dim, but I need you to listen to what I am saying. I have no more patience for your noise. If you disrupt our discussion, I'll kill you. Okay?"

Sakura's eyes focused on Kabuto.

"Yes, Sakura, he is coming."

Regret, fear, hope, sadness. She couldn't believe it. An eerie chill disrupted the blood flow and she stopped breathing for a moment. Four seconds drawn out into an endlessness she had never imagined.

He couldn't come. Kabuto would kill him. Orochimaru would… what would happen to Sasuke? What if Orochimaru used the curse seal? Would it rouse the evil within Sasuke and consume him? Sakura had seen the seal activate before. She had seen that chakra. It was so corrupting. It would swallow him.

Sakura couldn't let Kabuto get that close.

Her mouth opened and she took in the biggest breath she could. Adrenaline that had died in her came back and fought against the drug. Every ounce of chakra she had saturated her blood. She had to warn Sasuke, if even for a moment.

Her core muscles pulled her, curling her into Kabuto's chest and her hands went for his neck.

The shinobi was faster. His fingers, though they were still around her body, filled with destructive chakra and stabbed her shoulder and thigh. These prongs punctured everything they touched. One clipped her lung and the artery in her thigh was touched on both sides but was not punctured. He had deliberately missed.

She gripped his throat. She was wide awake.

Kabuto's face was calm.

Her hold loosened. The Asphyxiant overpowered all her efforts and she convulsed. She didn't want to let go.

"Are you going to kill me, Sakura?"

Her tendons smoldered under her skin. She could see the thick blue chakra spears sticking out of her body still. The air on the wounds was icy. It reminded her of what happened to a porcelain bowl when the temperature changed too quickly.

It shattered.

Sakura didn't move. She sat in Kabuto's arms, trying to choke him. If she moved, she would die. If she moved, Kabuto would fight Sasuke. If she moved, Orochimaru would win.

Ice and fire. Purgatory.

A final scream erupted from her. It was desperate to warn Sasuke, thick in her throat, long and loud as she released her agony.

Orochimaru was soaking into her bones, replacing the pain with an uncomfortable numbness.

She couldn't fight it off forever.

After all…

"You are truly useless."

Her breath caught. The last seconds of her freedom had run out.

The world slowed down.

Sakura dropped her hands.

"If you had only come a little sooner." Kabuto's bloodied fingers stretched across her face, caressing it gently. "She's too far gone to greet you now." His yellow eyes curved to the edges of the trees.

Into the open walked Sasuke.

Kabuto's unsettling gaze was recognizable in an instant. The transformation the man had undergone was surprising, but not anywhere near the shock Sasuke felt when his eyes fell on Sakura.

He couldn't remove himself from her body. Everything was wrong. Everything. She looked as drained as a corpse, even though she still clanged to life with every broken gasp . Her limbs were dangling, a doll in the arms of a sick puppeteer. Her head was tilted unnaturally and her eyes, half open, looked dead. He delved into in a lifeless green sea where he couldn't find a hint of consciousness.

"Poor Itachi. He was looking forward to dying today."

Sasuke was blown away by disbelief. It wasn't Sakura. It was Kabuto's trickery. This was an illusion. It wasn't possible. That couldn't be Sakura.

"He has been seeking some sort of punishment ever since he left Konoha. What happened to your family was not a test of Itachi's ability, though that might have been easier to live with… Itachi was a tool, held ransom by his hatred of war. But instead of just letting the nation tear itself apart and erase one of the worst alliances humanity has ever created, Itachi made the decision to that saved Konoha from civil war. It wasn't a sudden urge or a test of capacity… it was a command that he chose to accept. Itachi has been beside himself with regret and anguish ever since."

The words meant nothing to him. The mention of Itachi's name caught his attention, but it was in Sakura's soulless expression that his focus remained. Sasuke mouth opened, but he couldn't yet speak. Something was rising in his body, filling every limb and motion with heat. His curse seal was like a hot iron pressed to his skin. This pain was good. It felt right partnered with rage.

The swelling emotion tumbled over him like crashing waves.

"Undo it now." He seethed. His eyes were a vehement crimson, drowning in malevolence.

"No." Kabuto's smile curled. He was elated.

The Uchiha held himself in place. "Kabuto." Just by the way Sasuke said his name, it was a threat.

The medic quirked his head. He was pleased with Sasuke's interest in him. "In the restaurant I was disappointed when you didn't recognize me. But I guess you were too distracted." He took a curl of Sakura's hair in his fingers. "I had been debating for some time whether to interfere. I wasn't sure of what your reaction would be."

Sasuke didn't let his befuddlement show. He hadn't even noticed Kabuto in the restaurant. It made sense now, but how could he have passed over such a dangerous person?

"I have been watching you, Sasuke-kun. Never before have I seen you act this way. When I visited that old woman's house, I had intended to shake Sakura-chan up a bit. I was hoping that she would become overwhelmed, and she did, and I hoped that you would leave her… You did not. You were _considerate_ for this woman. You were _patient_. You were _reserved_. You went out of your way to make her feel safe." Kabuto adjusted Sakura and she curled into him.

"Kabuto." That was his last warning.

"When you took her from me in the bar… I was shocked—to say the least. You were so protective. You were so enraged. I never knew that was possible."

Sasuke readied a kunai.

"Why, Sasuke…? Why did you come for her? You had everything you needed. Itachi was right in front of you. You were minutes away from achieving your ultimate goal. Yet you walked the other way. You chose on a _whim_. You didn't even know this woman was in danger. You didn't know I was here. You chose on a _whim_ to follow… to turn away from your only opportunity to end the man who ruined you. You sought _her_? You followed after this… worthless child—?"

The kunai sliced through the air and Kabuto twitched. The thick black strand fell in clumps to the ground exposing the scaled side of his face.

"She is not worthless to me."

The skin cut but it did not bleed. "Your brother has the worst luck. You'd think a man that went through hell and back would get some kind of positive compensation. After being forced to kill his own family, you would think things might go right for him just once. But he made an unpredictable mistake by allowing Sakura to live. I feel sorry for him."

Sasuke was forced to hold his ground. Sakura was still Kabuto's shield. "You know nothing."

The white skin rippled. "The Uchiha were planning a coup. Didn't you know?" It shrunk against his cheekbone and scrunched together, healing. "No, no, you were too young. Weren't you ever curious why only the Uchiha were targeted? Or why Fire Country let it happen? Surely some would have been saved… Surely the ANBU could have stopped Itachi… But no, it was a planned massacre. It was hushed up and put away nice and neat."

"Then why am I alive."

"That! That is an interesting conundrum. Why would Itachi leave you alive? I don't know why and I really don't care. If you had decided to fight him today, I'm sure you would have figured that out by now."

"I don't need to listen to your poor fabrications."

Kabuto's head swerved, catching Sasuke's glare. "Now why would I lie, Sasuke-kun? The truth is much more interesting. If you really want the truth, why don't you ask your brother? I'd be happy to wait here with Sakura-chan. I'm sure I can keep myself entertained." There was more and more Orochimaru in Kabuto's voice. His words slurred and dripped.

Sasuke felt the flames of his curse seal spreading. If Kabuto was baiting him, it was working.

The snake eye glowed. "Orochimaru-sama envied the Sharingan. It is capable of so many things. But among its talents is treachery." Kabuto's appeasing attitude returned a little. "You were never his ideal subject. You were not worthy in the first place. I know that now. It is only fit that I kill you in his name. If Orochimaru-sama consumes your body as you are, I will become his perfected vessel and through me his power will be reborn."

"Then release her and fight me."

Kabuto forgot himself for a moment, looking down at Sakura's ashen face. He was filled with the desire to cause her pain and he allowed Orochimaru's chakra to consume her a little more.

A spark of electricity shot across the distance between them, pricking his hand and leaving a searing burn mark. The man recoiled, eyes locked on Sasuke.

"Kabuto."

Kabuto sneered. "Impatience is not a likeable quality, Sasuke."

Another shock hit the side of his face. Cracking the skin on his cheek.

A pretense seemed to lift in Sasuke's approach and he moved with less reserve. "If you want these eyes, come and take them from me."

Kabuto grinned excitedly. He walked to the trunk of a tree and dropped Sakura like baggage. Her back hit the tree and she gave out a grunt. Her head rolled. It was as if a dark cloud had left her and her body came to life again. Her breathing was slow and shallow. Her eyes opened and closed lazily. Heavily drugged. Sasuke could almost see it swimming in her veins.

Kabuto walked away from her, intent on Sasuke. He held his hand out, palm facing him.

"I've been waiting for this moment, Sasuke." The shriveled skin on his face puckered, consuming a little more of him. "Orochimaru-sama has been waiting for this."

From his hand poured white snakes. They shot through the air, colliding with Sasuke before he could draw his katana. Their smooth scales wrapped around his arms, plunging their fangs into his skin. Sasuke cringed, quickly slicing their bodies and cutting his connection to Kabuto. He leapt back and reached to knock their entangled teeth from his body.

As his hand lowered to them, he felt something cold in his blood.

For a moment he imagined drugs, a contaminant. But it was different. As soon as it struck, his Sharingan followed a dark matter meshing into his system.

It was chakra.

Sasuke knocked what was left of the serpents away.

Kabuto was on him in an instant. Armed with two blades, he aimed for Sasuke's tendons and arteries. Sasuke blocked effectively, Kabuto's specialty had never been hand to hand combat. But something was different.

Sasuke swung his blade and Kabuto backed away without and intention of persisting.

It was then that Sasuke realized what had happened.

Crawling up his arms and legs and torso where the snakes had bitten. His skin was enflamed, covered with the black scrawling he had become familiar with. It was Orochimaru's curse seal.

The shinobi's hand on his weapon was unstable. The black ink spread across his body slowed to a stop as he fought it. In his mind he could see Orochimaru. Instead of rising and shouting his propositions at Sasuke, he cowered. On his face was a pained look. Terrified.

Something was very wrong.

Kabuto's blade sung with a whistle past his face.

"Feels good, doesn't it? The power." His hair was shifting. More and more black strands were slipping out of the gray. His insides were churning now that the remains of Orochimaru hidden deep within Sasuke were near. The sleeping piece of evil within him was finally taking over.

Sasuke's head snapped up. His blood pumped loudly, excited. The monster inside of him was itching to kill. Blood. He wanted to see it smeared across the green life around him. He wanted to watch acid corrode the colors, the life. He wanted to watch it spoil.

He ran forward in a flicker. Blood pumping. Mind fading.

The black marks spread like wildfire, leaving behind gray skin. Half of his body had transformed when he reached Kabuto.

His blade struck Kabuto's, whose feet stuck into the ground, skidding back, knocking up dirt. Kabuto's sneering face was giddy. It was Orochimaru's emotion played on two faces that were inches from one another.

It was fun.

Sasuke shot at him again and two sleek metal lines collided. Sparks singed their hands as they fought for control. Kabuto: a kunai. Sasuke: the katana. Kabuto gained a little power and began jabbing at Sasuke with incomprehensible speed. Sasuke blocked flawlessly. The thrill and rush in him acted faster than he did.

Sasuke put his fingers to his mouth and a fireball, rearing it's head like a viper, attacked Kabuto. He was enveloped in flames for only a second, flailing and roaring, until his own chakra coated the ball and he threw it aside. His face looked like melted wax. Sasuke saw intention in Kabuto's eyes as it followed his hand. Kabuto made an arc and slung the katon jutsu back at Sasuke.

It split at the tip of Sasuke's blade and by the time he prepared for Kabuto's next move, there was a barrage of shuriken behind the smoke.

Sasuke deflected them and they thudded with the earth.

Kabuto had stopped. His charred face was turned full on to Sasuke. There was silence only for a second, then a sickening sizzle. The skin on Kabuto's face and body shivered and began healing. A smirk came across the newly formed expression—the white flesh had eaten more and more—and he gave a laugh. From the burnt hair, more black protruded. His eyes were even more deranged.

His lips drew back into a sneer and his arm slowly rose. Sasuke watched the jutsu swelling in his muscles, chakra gathering.

Kabuto's existence flickered and he was on Sasuke. His chakra enhanced fists swung at him. Sasuke dodged and dodged until finally Kabuto pulled back and slammed both hands upon his chest. Sasuke flew back. He felt his ribs breaking. His lung was torn, but he didn't notice. Kabuto was already bombarding him with shuriken.

Sasuke knocked them away with ease. He was almost disappointed.

Then he saw their purpose. From the shadows, the path of the shuriken, snakes took their place and suddenly dozens of them enveloped him. Sasuke didn't have time to raise his sword and it was knocked away from him.

The bodies slid past, encasing him totally. He couldn't move.

His heart beat was his only company.

Sasuke felt something squirm within him. A shadow figure that wriggled uncomfortable under the skin.

His back burned and a smirk formed. The bubbling on his back erupted in two gigantic wings.

The snakes were torn apart and their tainted blood rained on the green field.

He launched into the air above Kabuto, ready to come down on him like a nightmare. His eyes were black. Black. The red of his Sharingan glowed mercilessly.

Kabuto looked up, startled. Then from his hands a hoard of snakes defended him.

Sasuke slashed in the air. The power pumping in his arms made him strong enough. With his hands alone, he sliced through. Then another bundle came at him. And another, and another. Another. Another.

With every stroke of his hand he could feel something alive inside of him, tied tightly together with the curse seal. From Orochimaru's true body within him, he felt something.

Inside the black Orochimaru was lost. He was curled in the corner of Sasuke, defended by one snake. Around him red eyes watched and waiting in anticipation. Eight pairs of eyes. Eight faces.

Sasuke felt each of them move around his limbs, soothing his uncertainty with unmistakable power.

He began to quiver. His eyes changed.

The Sharingan was gone in an instant, but the red remained, more bloodied than before. A slit cut through the red sea and he felt his face hollow. His own vision was fuzzy as something more emerged.

A thick purple chakra leaked out of every pore.

He dropped like a rock to the earth at Kabuto's feet and the ground turned over. Dust and dirt flew into Kabuto's wide eyes. The white scales of the serpents protected him.

Sakura was awoken with a start.

She looked around for the sound that had brought her back to consciousness but was blinded by dust.

How long had she been unconscious?

She took in a deep breath. There was a searing pain in her lungs. Her diaphragm was worn out, but she could breath. There was air. The illusion of death had been temporary just as Kabuto instructed her.

Sakura's ears were ringing, her head was humming.

She was sure it had been real. She was sure that she had been dying.

Her arms were fragile, but she could move. The pain in her lungs was dissipating. The Asphyxiant had been spent. She flexed her hand. Her shoulder was trembling. Her collar bone had broken and her arm was almost entirely limp. She could feel her skin coated with flaking blood. Her wounds were numerous but not serious. She felt sucked dry. Sakura had little strength, but at least she was alive. She was breathing in deep full breaths. Even as she was exhausted, she was free of the drugs.

But the trauma had not faded at all. Her muscles were stretched and her veins were thin. They had been without oxygen for so long. Her skin felt like paper, easy to rip. Her bones felt hollow.

Sakura stayed seated, watching the covered field. Her throat clenched, uncertain, fearful.

Where was Sasuke?

What would Orochimaru's presence in Kabuto do?

Her eyes were dry. Too dry to close, uncomfortable to blink. The dust stung.

When the clouds cleared, it was Sasuke in the middle.

Was it Sasuke?

His skin blackened entirely. Eyes, mad eyes. Then the chakra, spanning more than she had ever imagined possible.

Kabuto staggered back. He put out his arms with a cry and more snakes attacked.

The chakra entangled with them as soon as they reached Sasuke. They were swallowed and dropped like insects. Useless.

Kabuto tried again and again. Desperate.

Again and again they were stopped.

Useless.

They burned. They eroded and they died.

Sasuke hunched over a little with a sigh. A whiff of smoke slid out of his cracked lips and the blackness of his skin swirled. The eight snakes inside tightened their hold on him. Green ink oozed over his body inside of his mind.

Kabuto could see it. Inside of him. He could feel it through Orochimaru. His own chakra was being taken over by the monster Sasuke had embodied.

He could feel Orochimaru dying.

The white snake was falling away into the black abyss.

Kabuto couldn't believe it. His white hands weaved into the remainder of his gray hair. Why? He could feel Orochimaru's strength fading. Why? It was being sucked from within him, pulled back to Sasuke where the hollow corpse of Orochimaru rotted.

Envy.

Sasuke was always the one. Orochimaru's special specimen and now, what little Kabuto had gained was being taken from him and given to the Uchiha.

He dove at the monster and his hands pierced the chakra with one last surge.

The black demon met him, grabbing the blue fists.

Kabuto struggled, forcing as much destructive chakra he could into Sasuke's system. The bones in the demon's wrist shattered but did not falter.

He let out a shriek as he threw himself further into the chakra. But his body was not protected.

As soon as the purple wave touched him he felt it on him, lighting him up. A horrific pain coated him and he screamed, then… nothing.

Kabuto tried to get away but the chakra stayed with him.

His hands lost their blue shield and they too were attacked by the poisonous cloud.

His fingers tingled and he looked down. They were black. His skin was black. Like cooled cinders. Like ash. He couldn't feel his hands. Or his arms. Or his legs. He looked at his body. It was all black like a piece of spent wood. Empty. Worthless.

He tried to move his arms. They did nothing

He tried to walk. His legs didn't respond.

He felt nothing.

Kabuto watched his hand as a gust of wind ran by . A stream of black dust was withered away from his fingertips. He tried to cry out and heard nothing. His eye sight was growing weak. His face tingled and then, nothing.

The air, the wind, was taking his body away, bit by bit. Soon his hand was gone completely. Then his arm, then his own face was stolen in a breeze and a black cloud covered the last thing he would ever see:

Sasuke.

He had achieved what Kabuto had only dreamed of… He had become a monster that even Orochimaru couldn't control.

Then, there was nothing.

Sakura stared in awe as the cinders fell to the ground in a pile and were slowly etched away by wind. She felt her legs rocking violently below her. She couldn't stand even if she tried.

Sasuke stared at the remains of his enemy. His head tilted to the side, childishly. Is it over, his red eyes asked. Is he really dead?

Sasuke took a step forward and the purple chakra started seeping back into him. He stood over the black pile and stared. When interest faded he looked up at the sky. His hair was long and gray. It touched the center of his back. The chakra was almost gone. His wings, their fingers curled like dying plants.

Suddenly his face contorted. His hands went limp and a pain in his chest rose. The effects of the battle were surfacing. His shattered wrists and broken rib cage demanded his attention.

He stumbled a little as the last of the chakra receded.

His body was shaking. He was a dry well, sucking what was left of his chakra to maintain the curse seal.

Sakura pushed off the tree with her back and rolled to the ground. She used her arms to get to her feet. She held the bark. It scratched her tender skin. But she was standing. She eyed the distance between them, almost hesitantly. She was afraid.

Sasuke's blackened body returned to the charcoal color the curse seal usually possessed him with. His red eyes faded to gold. The slit remained in the frozen amber, dead of thought and emotion. Only instinct remained.

Sakura could see his eyes. They still weren't his. He was trapped by something. She could feel the sinister chakra hiding once more, but it had not released him. His body was moving without his consent. She could feel the chakra of the Kyuubi inside of her twist and turn anxiously. Sasuke was still not entirely human.

She moved her foot and leaned toward him.

"Sasuke."

His head turned in a flicker. The animosity in his eyes shocked her.

Slowly, ever so slowly, she closed the space. She dragged one leg beside the other. She kept her arms against her thighs and tried to put chakra into the muscles. They were taunt. They were stiff.

Sasuke didn't move. He observed her, weighing whether or not to kill her. Was she an enemy or prey? His hands twitched. He couldn't move them still.

She couldn't look away from that face. Thoughts soared, pecking her and festering, thousands of them, until finally she stood a foot from him, gazing into those foreign eyes. Her mind drifted. She stood, hoping, pleading with him.

She was terrified.

The sea foam green was reminiscent. His arms moved a little, wanting to touch her eyes and remember.

Sakura saw him tense and she advanced at inch at a time.

Her pale arms wrapped around his misshapen form. His skin was cold. She could feel him falling through the cracks. She held on. Her arms didn't feel anything. Her muscles were containing him with her will alone.

He stepped, dragging her along the grass. Something dry hit the tops of her feet. It wasn't earth. It wasn't grains and pebbles like earth. It was fine. Finer than sand.

Sakura kept her eyes away, knowing what devastated corpse lie beside them.

She watched the monster's eyes.

The gold iris was like a light flashed at her from out of the black surrounding it. She didn't know what expression she was making but Goosebumps ran across his face. He struggled more.

His wings batted around her and lifted them off the ground for a moment. Her heart pulsed with adrenaline and the moment she brushed the ground again, chakra swelled in the souls of her feet and gripped the ground with all her might. She could feel her chakra flowing again. Orochimaru's chakra as well as the Kyuubi's were gone from her.

The wings curled around them, swiping at her back and hitting her. They were quick swatting movements but they didn't really hurt. They shocked her. Her concentration almost broke, but she stayed calm. Her face set. Her fear gone.

"Sasuke."

His arms flailed, clawing her. He was capable of so much more… why was he not fighting back? What struggle was occurring in his mind? His eyes darted from side to side. His breathing was frantic. His chest heaved up and down against Sakura's. Sakura bent her legs and used the ground to pull Sasuke down.

He jolted; his hands grabbed her back, digging into her skin. She flinched, pushing her head into the crook of his neck and gripping him tighter.

"Please don't…"

Her knees made contact with the grass and Sasuke fell forward, embracing her with pain and repulsion and desperation and fear and senseless animosity. She didn't let go.

"Sasuke… "

Sakura could feel his last energy fading. In a last desperate attempt to escape her, Sasuke squeezed. His arms, tone and quaking, crushed her.

Sakura felt the breath being pushed out of her. Her lungs were on fire once again.

"Please… come back…"

Her shoulders relaxed as her arms did. Sasuke stopped squeezing and looked down, startled. He searched for life.

Sakura lifted her head.

Her deep eyes were tired. Her world spun.

The chakra left her feet and Sasuke felt his anchor release him. His nails retreated from her back and he let his weight bring him down to his knees. He was free. The wings protruding from him wilted and were drawn back in. He didn't need them anymore.

He listened to their breathing. He watched her cheeks go from white to peach. She leaned into him, still holding on, waiting for his next move.

But he remained.

He felt the monster inside of him subside. It was as fatigued as he was.

He focused on Sakura's face. The expression there was unexpected.

It was kind. It was joyous.

"Sasuke."

The dark colors of his complexion had faded, leaving behind his coal black eyes. His hair fell in his face naturally again. His arms loosened, almost falling from her. His blood settled.

Exhaustion hit him like a brick wall and he half collapsed on Sakura.

She let out a huff and held him up. Were it not for her paralyzed legs, they would have both hit the ground.

His head fell over her shoulder and he hung on her. She stayed upright and found herself staring at the sky. She opened her mouth but couldn't find the words she needed. Her heart was fluttering weakly. The nightmare was over. She kept her eyes in the sun. His bare back was wide and lax. She had to clasp onto her arms to maintain a closer hold.

She felt his cool hands encase her.

Sakura started to pull her head away to see his face, but he didn't let.

He murmured, the light breath brushing her ear. "Are you hurt?"

Sakura shook her head. She ignored the pain in her shoulder that he was pressuring and the cuts and trauma to her body… She knew what he was asking.

"No."

A sigh whooshed out of him.

His deep breaths pressed Sakura into him. His grip was a little choking, but Sakura didn't protest. After a few moments, he let his arms fall. Sakura carefully took his weight and helped him lie on his back.

She loomed over him, watching his eyelids fall and rise. She smiled and placed her hand on his cheek, rubbing away his hair with her fingers. She felt her face sting. Her smile spread and happy tears gathered in her cream lashes. His sleepy eyes stared at her and the black of his iris swam calmly. She leaned down to place her forehead against his.

She let out a laugh and cradled his head gently in her fingers. She lifted her head just enough to see his face.

Her eyes were bright, her fluttering hair tickled his brow. Sasuke laid his hand on her leg, the other reached to the locks in his face. He pushed them back and held her face there.

A flurry of joy ran through her and Sakura leaned down to his face. She tenderly pressed her lips to the corner of his mouth.

She prepared to lean away when his hand on her face hesitated and stopped her.

She hovered an inch over his mouth. His eyes caught her for a moment. His hand slid to the back of her neck and she bowed her head again.

Her lips melted for one, short, still moment. She smiled against his mouth. He was warm. He was truly welcoming her in. He didn't move, but he was alive under her kiss. His hand went up her hip and held the small of her back as she came closer.

Sasuke held her there for a moment until Sakura couldn't help herself. The smile against his lips became a laugh and she broke from him. She stared into his face with the greatest joy and contentment imaginable.

She removed his hand from her face and could feel the tender tendons straining. Her face settled, containing her elation. He was alive. He was Sasuke. But he was injured. Badly. His wrist was throbbing in her hand and she could hear the rasp in his breathing. He was covered in burns and wounds. It wasn't long ago she was healing him after fighting Deidara. _He just can't manage to stay healthy…_ She couldn't find it in herself to be agitated. She was just glad he was alive.

Sakura moved his limbs into a comfortable position and Sasuke sunk into the ground. Sakura sat up and breathed in deeply.

Her mind was telling her to stop. To not heal him now. To rest. But Sakura couldn't help it.

She touched his wounds, one by one and stitched them together with green light. She wasn't aware of the time it took or how weary she was. She worked without a word, only occasionally glancing at Sasuke. His eyes would lazily open and close as he observed her.

She imagined at first that the burns were from the Chidori. But it was strange. They were not regular burns. They went deep into his chakra system. In some places, the connection was severed from the skin. It looked very similar to the burns Naruto would have over him after being possessed by the Kyuubi. Sakura was an expert at healing those kinds of wounds at this point, but it startled her. The power that Sasuke had used was nothing like she had ever seen. Was he aware of what he had uncovered within himself?

Sakura cleaned up the minor cuts and healed them. She had no bandages or ointments so her only tool was her chakra and there wasn't much of that to begin with. She didn't feel right leaving even the small injuries unattended. It was the stubborn medic in her that made her go further.

Sakura finished and leaned on an arm. Her injuries were still there, if not even more present, than before. She would have to wait until morning to heal them.

She let out a sigh and looked down at his face.

He was sleeping.

She was confused for a moment. How _long _had he been sleeping? She hadn't noticed at first. She hadn't recognized the expression. His face had been so serene, even while awake. She grinned. It was—by far—the smallest victory of the day, but it was the most rewarding. Sasuke had found some peace.

Her mind was dizzy. Her body was finally shutting down. She stretched out beside him and in moments her eyes closed.

In her dreams she felt a large hand on her face and soft voice addressing her:

"Thank you," It said.

* * *

Happy Halloween!

So… Yeah. That was a big ass chapter. Chapter 8.

Roxnroll, MyUsedRomance, Oyuki, LittleGreenWolf, and Ryuu-dragon09 were all correct! Kabuto was the creeper! Congrats, you get a fudge brownie.

Tell me what you thought about this chapter, I have been looking forward to writing this for the longest time… This was my goal through all of those hard chapters. _Just wait, Nut. Soon you will have a chapter solely devoted to Sasuke and Sakura! _(And it won't be the last!)

(**I finally changed it to a T-rating. **There's really no need for the M. I'm not doing anything too bad. Just a little language now and again… a little violence, but nothing too disturbing, am I right?)

Next Chapter – Captain of a Sinking Vessel

…

Ships that pass in the night, and speak each other in passing, only a signal shown, and a distant voice in the darkness; So on the ocean of life, we pass and speak one another, only a look and a voice, then darkness again and a silence.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow


	9. Captain of a Sinking Vessel

Playlist: Part 1 is up until the Root come in. Then Part 2 to the end.

_Part 1:_ Tables and Chairs (Andrew Bird), and I Will Follow You Into the Dark (Death Cab for Cutie)

_Part 2 _(All Jay-Z)_: _Run This Town, What We Talkin' About, and Swagga Like Us.

* * *

Ships that pass in the night, and speak each other in passing,

Only a signal shown, and a distant voice in the darkness; So on the ocean of life, we pass and speak one another,

Only a look and a voice, then darkness again and a silence.

_Henry Wadsworth Longfellow_

* * *

…

The Captain of a Sinking Vessel

…

* * *

Tsunade leaned her back against a wall, hugging the Uchiha's file to her chest and hiding in the shadows from the Root nin searching for survivors in the rubble of the shelter.

Her heart beat loudly in her ears. She had to wait until they were gone to follow after Madara.

Somewhere close by, Tsunade heard the buzz of a mic again.

Suddenly the street was alive. Rain nin dropped down from the roof tops near the rock wall and attacked the Root. Tsunade quickly realized they had originally gathered to join Madara where the council was being protected.

It was sickening for Tsunade to realize Madara had probably known Root would be patrolling there and intended for the Rain shinobi to be overwhelmed by the more skilled Konoha soldiers.

In minutes, Root emerged from the skirmish unharmed.

She was hopeful that they would regroup with those protecting the council, until a transition shattered that hope.

"Koharu-sama and Homura-sama have been murdered! We must protect Danzou!"

She looked at the file in her hands.

Her plan to reveal Danzou's true identity had been snuffed out. She had hoped that if the council knew the truth, they would call off Root and save the ignorant soldiers from being betrayed and slaughtered.

It wasn't until that transition that Tsunade acknowledged the truth. Konoha was no longer able to be saved. The people left behind had been erased by the explosions and the soldiers remaining were under the thumb of a madman.

She looked up at the smoke gathering in the sky, blocking the sun.

She had no more reason to delay the letter.

As stealthily as she could be, Tsunade managed to get back to the lake unnoticed.

The frog was waiting and looked at her with expectant eyes.

She looked at the letter one last time and closed it without any adjustment.

The frog looked startled.

"The council is dead. Madara has won Konoha."

The little frog shivered and fat tears gathered in his eyes. "Oh."

Tsunade knelt in the grass and placed the scroll in front of him there by the lake. She held her hand on it.

The ripples were like wrinkles on the world. Aged. Tired.

Tsunade let her gaze wander over the water, falling finally on her wavering reflection.

"Tsunade-sama?"

Aside from her personal note to Gaara, she had put in her insight and the darkest secrets she had ever beheld.

In here she told the Uchiha's story. She put in Madara's order to kill Sasuke. She told them where Sai would be. She put in the secrets of Root. She put in the meanings she had uncovered.

She put in all of her last thoughts. Her last feelings. Her hopes. Her dreams. She was sealing them away into one scroll. This was the last signal and voice. Then darkness again. And silence.

Everything she knew. Everything she had left.

"Tsunade-sama?"

The ripples stopped for a moment and she peered into her own expression.

_Yes, _she thought. _This is fine._

The frog opened his mouth and she placed the scroll inside. He closed his mouth and stared at her.

She rubbed his head. "Give this to Gaara. He'll know what to do." She smiled.

He nodded and turned. He leapt into the water and was gone.

The rings spread slowly until the water settled. She was the only one left now. Stranded on a wretched ship, teeming with ghosts and demons.

In the lake, the face she saw was not her own. It was Jiraiya's. She imagined his death. As flashy and as proud as he was. She was certain that that's how he ended it. She was sure that he had died well.

_This is fine._

She rose.

Madara was waiting.

* * *

"Move the critical patients, I'll be there soon."

The people were rummaging about like ants. They scurried from place to place, IV bags dangling from makeshift stands, medics running from tent to tent. It was organized chaos.

Ino watched them. She hadn't expected it, but she had become one of the leaders of the medical retaliation. She started healing only one person, then another came, then another until they were gathering the injured around her. More medics appeared and the little safe spot Shikamaru and Chouji left her at became a hospital base.

She was bandaging a mildly wounded soldier. His leg was hardly bleeding. Ino knew it wouldn't take much to fix it with medical jutsu but there were people who needed that chakra more.

Ino ran into the medical tent where a young girl was writhing on a cot. There were four or five medics there already, trying to figure out what had happened.

The kunoichi moved them aside and put her hands on either side of the girl's head. She closed her eyes and was suddenly looking into a blank space. Images she had never seen appeared. She was looking into the child's memories.

She flipped back in the pages until she found the last battle fought. From the point of view of the girl she could see exactly what was done to her.

When she exited her mind the girl was still thrashing.

Ino quickly communicated what had happened and the medics did what was necessary without delay.

That was her main attribute to the task force. Her Kekkei Genkai was a useful tool in these cases when the cause couldn't be determined and when the patient didn't have time for doctors to deliberate.

She was dismissed and went back out into the open. There were patients everywhere. Wind and Fire. Some of the less seriously injured were assisting as well. She wanted to protest but the medics needed the help. There were many healers, but there just weren't enough. Sand Country hadn't adapted to the rule Tsunade laid down years ago: one medic to a four man team.

Because of that she could already see that more Konoha shinobi would live than Suna. The Konoha medics were able to give standard first aid and could prevent the condition, whatever it might be, from worsening.

The Suna shinobi were not so lucky.

Ino could see another wave of shinobi coming from the north where the battle was occurring. They staggered closer. Ino's heart tightened at their suffering, realizing what hard work was lying ahead. She and others that saw the approaching crowd were at their sides in moments.

She checked two or three, passing them on to less experienced medics to take care of. Their problems would not be a challenge. There were two more that had broken limbs. With simple summoning jutsu the supplies needed to splint their bones appeared.

Some medics from Suna were carrying a man whose leg had been completely shredded by a bomb. Ino's pale hands delved into the wound with their healing glow and she stitched together the skin and arteries before he could lose any more blood.

Without a moment of hesitation the dozen or so of new patients were taken care of in minutes.

The physical injuries were not as difficult as the ones caused by jutsu. The curses and Genjutsu cast could cause death faster than a bleeding wound.

They were fortunate to have patients with the skills to remove the more difficult curses around. Because of them, they had not lost a single person that had come from the battlefield. They had saved every single one that came looking for aid.

Ino sighed and sat by the canal. There was a cooling breeze sweeping up behind her from the moving water.

"Take a break, we can handle things." A tall woman from Suna waved at Ino. She was a doctor. In fact, she was one of Gaara's personal doctors. She was revered by his council for her talent, even thought she had never been on a battlefield in her life. She came all the same when her two boys were assigned to reinforcement squads.

Ino waved back. "Thanks."

She leaned on the railing and took in a deep breath.

She shut her eyes for a moment. The days were getting longer into the evening. The sun was up, just like they were, even as the hours rolled by. Everyone was waiting for the sun to set. Everyone was waiting for a breather, sleep. Release.

There was a splash below her, louder than the constant clap the current made against the concrete.

She looked down quickly.

It was a frog. His narrow eyes looked over the hitai-ate around her neck. Once he saw the leaf symbol, he spoke.

"Where is the Kazekage?"

Ino lifted her brow. The little frog scampered up the wall of the canal and perched on the railing beside her. She had seen talking animals before, but it was shocking all the same. The mention of Gaara caught her attention.

"I have an urgent message from Tsunade-sama."

"From Hokage-sama?" Ino blinked in surprise.

"Yes, for the Kazekage."

"Gaara is probably fighting right now. I don't know where he is."

His eyes drooped. "Oh…"

"What is it? Can I look? I'm Yamanaka Ino, her old student. I'll do whatever I can to help." Her curiosity was bubbling. "Can I read it?"

He moved away hesitantly. But Tsunade had said it was meant for all eyes. There was nothing in there that she wanted to keep secret.

In the surrounding area there was calm. They were in a safe place, no one could damage the message here. Slowly he opened his mouth and the scroll stuck out with his tongue.

Ino took it carefully and unrolled it. Her stomach plummeted as Tsunade told the story of the Root and of the Uchiha. Konoha's dark secrets. It's fate. She read on, skipping the summoning's instructions. That could be saved for Gaara. She continued to skim until the scroll yielded a map curled inside of it. The map was carefully attached at the last minute. There was a thick red line going from Rain Country to a circled place just above Konoha. Tsunade had labeled it in her scrawled cursive: The Uchiha Stronghold. She memorized its location instinctively. Then, just after it, was a paragraph that drew Ino's eye.

"_Madara wants to get rid of the remaining Uchiha. He must be stopped by any means. He knows where they will be and has already sent out a Root assassin. If Madara wants it done, we want to stop it. Gaara, send any you can spare to the stronghold._

_I know it's far, but there is a faster way. If there is any body of water, the frog that brought this message can get you there. If the other members of Team 7 are there, tell them immediately. Maybe they can stop him—…"_

When Ino saw _his_ name she lowered the scroll.

"Can you get me to the place marked in here?" She pointed fervently at the map.

He didn't answer, his stuttering didn't birth words.

"Can you?" She showed it to him carefully. "I… I'll leave the letter with someone I trust. It _will _reach Gaara… But… Can you take me there? Please?" She gingerly rolled it back up and held it out for the frog.

He shook his head over and over.

Just when his tongue was about to wrap around it, she yanked it back.

"Please! I… I can help. I can help! Take me there. I can help him."

Ino waited, but the little frog didn't respond.

Suddenly she got up, scroll still tight in her hand. She ran off and the little frog leapt after frantically. She stomped over to the cot where her acquaintance was working. The Sand nin's long arms reached to the IV she was preparing.

"Haruka-san, I need you to do something for me, if you can. There is a message here from the Hokage in Konoha. This needs to get to the Kazekage as soon as possible." She kept the scroll at her side.

Haruka stood straight, a good head taller than Ino. "I would be honored."

Ino looked at the frog. "Is that good enough?" Her hand on the paper was shaking. Her desperation was wearing in on her.

She could almost see it. She could see Sai in some dark place, alone. She knew that Sai couldn't win. Not against them.

The little frog grumbled, but was secretly glad. His mission was over. "Yes."

Ino grinned. "Can you take me there?"

"Wait." He held up a webbed hand. "There is something else." He opened his mouth and a small piece of paper unfolded. It was a summoning seal. "This… This must go to Gaara alone. The letter will elaborate. I cannot deliver it myself."

Haruka took the piece of paper. "I'll protect them with my life."

The frog grumbled. Ino had picked a very dedicated messenger. There was no reason for him not to take her now.

"Can you?"

The frog shrugged. "I don't know. I've never transported a human before." He avoided her glare. "B-but I'm sure it isn't that hard."

"Thank you."

"But I can't take you directly there. There isn't a body of water in that area and I don't want to take any chances with a puddle. We'll have to go through Konoha."

Ino's eyes widened. Konoha. She hadn't seen it since the evacuation. Would Tsunade be waiting there? She wanted now more than ever to look at the letter she sent, but time was against her. She would just have to see her in person.

That idea cast the shadow of a smile over her.

"Take me there."

* * *

The radios were buzzing. Every frequency was occupied by the different teams swarming all about the village.

"Five coming from the north. They're turning the corner now."

Rain's forces were sharply declining.

"We have them."

It was only a matter of time until they were obliterated.

One team of Root moved. The last standing. They needed to live. They had a mission waiting for them. Beyond the scaring battlefield.

"There are three more trapped in a civilian building."

"The buildings are clear. Smoke them out."

Fire illuminated the tired day. It seemed like night would never come.

"The back door. Retsu, are you—?"

"I've got them."

They were tense. Waiting on edge for the command from the higher-ups.

Retsu called breathlessly. "Let's move on."

When the order came they would leave Konoha.

"Scout the neighborhood. There can't be many left."

When the order came they would go to a secret place long forsaken.

"There are two of ours caught in the rubble." The voice was quivering with concern. Emotions were surfacing again. Even Root felt something.

When the orders came they would kill one of their own. Their own companion.

"Get them out—"

"Yoko, meet up with Hi and I at the next crossroads. We'll come around the back."

"I'll try to find a way around." It was Retsu.

"Give me a minute—"

"—_Cover_! Take cover!"

There was static.

"What happened?"

Silence.

"Report!"

Nothing.

"Retsu…"

"I'm almost there."

There was static on the line. Deep breathing.

"It's alright."

"There were only a few."

"Yoko, Rei, Hi, do _not _lose contact again."

"We couldn't risk it. They were too close."

"What happened."

"It was a trap."

"Ambush."

"What about ours? Do you need medical assistance?"

"No, they were already dead."

"Fine. Next spot is—"

There was one, brief, alarming tone on the line and a foreign voice intruded.

"Orders! Emergency orders."

Silence across the line.

This was the base frequency linked to all the radios. No one could miss it.

"Code: _TOU NO FUKAI SAI_…."

A pause.

"Twisted Knife. I repeat: Cut from the Twisting Knife."

There was silence across the line.

"…_TOU NO FUKAI SAI… _The mission has commenced."

The team recovered quickly.

The Root team all paused over the radio. They took in deep breaths. It was time.

"Taii, we're headed for the gate."

"Get there as fast as you can, Retsu and I will meet you."

"I need to restock."

"Move it, Rei!"

The mission had begun.

Their former comrade in Root was their target:

Sai.

…

"Danzou!" Koharu cried out in relief when the cloaked man entered.

He slowly closed the door behind him.

"Where have you been! The shelters… Homura… Homura is injured."

Madara, eyes glazed, looked from the door to the fallen pair. "Have you spoken to the guards?"

"The guards outside won't get help. What is going on?"

"Have they spoken to you?"

"No! Not at all!"

Danzou didn't answer.

"Danzou!" Koharu clung to Homura. "Please…"

Madara sighed. "Alright."

Koharu started to move her partner. "I'll carry his head—"

Madara cut her off. "I have a question for you first."

"There isn't time! Homura is dying."

"If you don't mind…" Madara's imploring gaze stopped her.

"Patience." The weak one spoke slowly. "Let's listen."

Madara looked down at the dying elder. It was almost pathetic. Almost regrettable.

"Thank you." He walked over to them. "Do you remember how old this village is, council?"

Koharu settled into her seated position again. "It's almost 75 years old."

He nodded. That was correct.

"Why is this important?"

Madara silenced her. "How old do you think I am, Koharu?"

"As old as I. Why—?"

"What if I told you I was from the same time as the First?" There was a deathly pause. "What would you say?"

The older woman shook her head laughing it off. "That's not possible."

Madara smiled calmly. "What if it was?"

"We've known you from birth. The three of us grew up together."

"Yes." Madara paused. "Do you remember long ago when I received a mission in Earth Country?"

She couldn't understand. Was he serious? "Yes… That was your last." She nodded. "Your body… You were so hurt…" She was dazed now, lost in the need to understand.

"What happened then?"

"You stopped missions. You started Root."

"Yes… Do you remember how I changed?"

She laughed weakly. "Yes, but that was expected. You had seen so much death." Her face lit up, reassuring him: "You are still Danzou."

Madara laughed as well. "No… No, no. It is more that… Danzou is me." She was speechless.

"I-I don't understand."

"There are many people inside of me… Memories, souls. From Earth, Rain, Wind… Danzou… Uchiha Obito… And all of the souls have given me life. I have been alive since the time the First made this village."

"Not… possible."

"Yes. It is."

Suspicion suddenly rose in her throat. "Orochimaru."

"No. I'm not Orochimaru." Madara shook his head with a chuckle. "He was a pathetic copy cat trying to protect an ultimate power with his frail human body. He was a failure. He didn't have a clue to what I have truly achieved."

Koharu was shaking now. "Who are you?"

"You were too young to witness my battle on Konoha's grounds the first time… But do you remember 20 years back? The Kyuubi…"

She was scared into silence.

"And then when the Uchiha's rose up. I was there."

His exposed eye darkened. "Now I have returned to take back what the First stole from me."

With deliberate slowness Madara took away the guise of Danzou, unwrapping his eye with care.

The moment she saw the crimson, she knew for sure.

"Uchiha Madara."

"Yes."

"Why!"

"I have come back to reclaim Fire Country. But you don't need to worry about that for long."

Koharu flinched when Madara approached her. He knelt before her, knowing that she was unable to stand. The explosion had done more damage that she was letting on. Homura was not the only one direly injured.

She held onto her old teammate, shaking him gently. She didn't want to be alone with the monstrosity before her.

But Homura's eyes were already closed. Koharu gave a little yelp when she looked down at him. He had passed without her knowing. Madara placed his good hand on the old man's forehead.

"I'm glad he didn't live to see me. Homura was a good soul." Koharu knocked away his touch. "He won't be alone for long." Both eyes locked on her terrified face.

"Please… please, I—"

"Shhh…" He cooed. "It won't hurt. I have no reason to cause you pain." He placed his palm on her wrinkled cheek. "As long as you're dead, it doesn't matter."

Her old eyes were wide on his for a moment. Then she sucked in a gasp. Her mouth closed into a fine line and a bead of blood formed between her lips. There was pain for an instant, then a prick on the back of her neck and the agony vanished.

Her leathery lids eased almost to closing, then she looked down into her lap. Homura's calm expression soothed her. She smiled and drifted into her last sleep.

…

The team of Root moved without a sound in the forest. Time was finally moving. The setting of battle slowed their days. Now things moved at an acceptable pace. No endless hours of fighting. No adrenaline torturing their veins. There was certainty in their goal. A mission was different from war. A mission had a clear end. War… was infinite.

Taii lead them. It would be an hour maybe more. Night would consume their sight, but they would not stop. Retsu flanked him, a burly man of 6'4''.

"Do you know Sai's objective?"

Taii didn't respond.

Hi approached Retsu's side. His white hair and young face pegged him in his early teens. "Did he answer?"

Retsu gave him a look and spoke into the mic again. "Taii."

"He's gone rogue apparently."

Hi laughed airily. "Not likely."

Retsu hit the boy on his head. "Hi."

"Sorry."

Yoko and Rei hung back, listening intently. Yoko's brows scrunched together at the news.

"Has he lost it?"

Rei grumbled, "I hope not. Sai is dangerous enough."

Retsu shrugged. "I've never seen him in action."

"I thought you said you worked with him before."

"Yeah, but he's too _good _to ever need to use more than the basics on a mission."

Rei laughed smugly. "I've seen him. He was practically uncontrollable until he got beat around for while. He's been under Danzou-sama's observation for years. His little pet…"

"A pet?" Hi mocked agreeing. "That sounds about right. No, he's more like a lost dog from what I hear. He clings to people."

Retsu's face fell.

Over his shoulder, Taii interjected. "Speak for yourself, pup."

Hi surrendered with his hands up. "At least I know what I'm doing."

Yoko jumped in with a hidden fury. "He was a better soldier than you'll ever be. Sai did his job."

Hi tossed in: "With a straight face."

"Maybe _you_ should have taken notes." Taii tried feebly to lighten the atmosphere of the group.

He successfully stopped the arguing. Retsu dragged Hi away to the front of the moving pack while Rei and Yoko lagged back. Retsu was always the peacekeeper. It was his nature even in battle. On missions, if he didn't have to kill, he wouldn't.

Hi was smirking. He had never met Sai before, but the rumors of his interaction with a group of Konoha Jounin had awakened his interest. His new favorite thing to do was to pick out the most sensitive material to tease Yoko with. She was the most experienced with Sai out of the group. She had been on missions together. They had trained together. They had been brought into the program at the same time in their lives. Though, she was spared the more mentally scaring missions, she was attached to Sai. She had witnessed his life with his "brother", and how the program Danzou created for more advanced soldiers slowly stripped him of every opinion, thought, and emotion born to man. Then she watched him return to the man she knew as he spent more time with the Konoha shinobi. He saw a smile on his face that didn't smell like a fake in the least. She watched him turn against Root deep inside. She watched him chose Danzou over the Konoha shinobi that had brought him back to life. She watched him walk from his friends for the final time.

And now he was to be killed for it.

"Yoko."

Taii's analytical face read her like an open book. Root were so attuned to the slightest emotion that any display was obvious. And Yoko knew it.

"Remember our mission."

Yoko took in a deep breath. Her mask seeped over her skin like melted metal. "Yes, Sir."

* * *

Sasuke knew that he had been moved as soon as he woke. Beneath him was not grass, but a blanket. He searched on his body for injuries but there were none. He felt a light tingle across his wrist and torso where the bones had broken, but there was no pain or uncomfortable pressure from a splint. He was completely healed.

"I managed to get some decent food. You can cook, right?"

Sasuke was careful not to change his expression when he heard their voices.

"No better than the next person."

"Are we stuck with raw meat and stinking vegetables then?"

"Oh, shut up. You know I can cook, I can cook." There was a pause. "Did you get enough for all of us?"

"Yeah, I figured we could wake them up."

"What are you talking about! They need their rest! At least the girl does…"

"Then I'm sorry for getting it!"

It was Karin and Suigetsu.

"No, Sasuke-kun has been gaining consciousness for a while now. I think he'll wake up soon."

"Then why are you complaining?"

"Do _you _want to wake Sasuke-kun up?"

Pause. "Not particularly, no."

"I thought so." She deliberated. "The girl… we could wake her up again. I think it's about time."

Sasuke heard the two shuffle off. He opened his eyes. He sat up and Karin turned around in a flurry.

"Sasuke-kun!" She ran to his side excitedly. "My melodious voice brought you back, didn't it?"

Suigetsu followed. "You mean your obnoxious screeching? A dead man would roll in his grave grave after hearing you speak."

"Shut up!" She whipped around and smacked his shoulder.

"What? It's probably true." He turned to Sasuke with a toothy grin. "Nice to have you back. Look how energetic she is!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"We've been looking for you!"

Suigetsu nudged her. "Yeah, sure."

"No, really we did! We looked for the first three days. We walked around looking for all the possible places you would go."

"Not after we gave up for a while. Then, when we started going toward the Uchiha stronghold, Karin picked up on your girlfriend healing you. You were practically dead when we got here." Suigetsu was grinning. He looked smug. He was probably happy to see Sasuke on his back for once.

Karin hit him again. He was too happy. "The medic healed you but you took a while to recover your chakra. We've been waiting for two days." She knelt down beside him, speaking tenderly. "I'm so glad you're awake, Sasuke-kun."

Sasuke nodded and sat up carefully. He felt fine. His chakra was recovered like his battle with Kabuto had never happened. He turned his hand, waiting for his wrist to crack as it use to after years and years of sprains and stress fractures. There was no noise. Not only had Sasuke been healed, his body was in better condition than before. He wanted to stand. Suigetsu reluctantly assisted him. His shining moment of dominance had been cut short.

"How is Sakura?"

Karin was confused.

Sasuke nudged his head toward the unconscious woman under the tree.

"Her? She hasn't woken yet, Sasuke-kun."

Sasuke brushed past Karin to where Sakura was lying. She was covered with a large cloak. There were bandages on her neck and her head.

"What's wrong?"

Karin skipped over. "The medic used all her chakra on you. She left her injuries unattended. We've been waking her up once and a while to check on her, but she hasn't really regained consciousness. Just mumbles."

Sasuke watched her chest move up and down. She was just sleeping.

"We were just about to wake her."

The peppy kunoichi was already on her knees, about to gently wake Sakura.

Sasuke stopped her with his hand. "I'll do it."

Karin and Suigetsu passed glances. She retreated obediently.

Sasuke sat beside Sakura and put his hand on her shoulder. He immediately noticed the bandage there and put his hand back on the grass.

"Sakura." He called. "Sakura, wake up." He brushed her hair out of her face and pressed his palm into her good cheek. "Wake up." He tapped her a little. "Wake up."

She didn't move. He leaned back. She never woke well. She was a deep sleeper when she wanted to be. When he and Sakura stayed in the bed and breakfast it took him ten minutes of the gentle method to get her going.

He looked back at Suigetsu and Karin. Then to Sakura. His face tingled when he leaned near her ear.

Sasuke took a deep breath and yelled soundly, the loudest Karin and Suigetsu had ever heard him. "Sakura, wake up!"

The woman sat up in a split second. Her eyes were wide and she gave out a little yelp. She looked like she was about to strike Sasuke who had skillfully avoided being head butted by her, but when she moved her arm she winced and she held it still.

Her eyes focused on the world around her, then finally on Sasuke.

They stared at one another in silence. And after a few seconds, her face turned cherry red.

"Good morning."

Sasuke let out a sigh and sat comfortably again. "Morning."

Her face was still struck with surprise. "Are you feeling better?"

"Yes." He looked at her shoulder.

She flushed and shrugged the best she could. "It's just a little sore." She was lying.

He knew. "We can fix that."

It was then that Sakura looked up at their audience. She tensed up habitually at Suigetsu's gaze.

He smiled hospitably. "Good morning, sleeping beauty."

She made a disgusted face and scooted to the side so Sasuke was a little more in the middle.

Sasuke sighed and stood. "Calm down. They aren't your enemies anymore."

Suigetsu held out his hand to her, oblivious of her repulsion. "It's nice to meet you."

Her mouth gaped and she let him assist her to her feet. "Are you serious?" She muttered quietly.

"I'm Suigetsu. The grouch is Karin. Thanks for patching up Sasuke."

Sakura laughed breathlessly. "I'm Sakura." This _was_ their first official meeting. She looked at Karin expecting a more friendly face than the one she knew.

But what she saw was a steaming woman with red cheeks, sticking her nose up in the air. "Nice to meet you." She hissed between tight teeth.

Sakura's mouth opened wider and rolled her eyes. "You haven't changed."

"Excuse me?"

Sakura smiled sweetly at her. "Nothing. Have you been taking care of me?"

She responded stubbornly. "Yes."

"Thank you." She took a deep breath and looked at the woman earnestly. "Thank you so much. I don't know what we would have done without you."

Karin was taken aback, but recovered.

"Aren't you cute?" Suigetsu flipped Sakura's short hair in the air casually.

That was awkward. Sakura wouldn't be able to take that for long.

She felt eyes on her and looked to Sasuke who stood back from the trio.

"What is it, Sasuke?"

His eyes dropped and he spoke sternly. "What you did was stupid. No sensible medic would heal every wound when it wasn't necessary."

"I didn't have any bandages. Besides, my methods are none of your concern." She paused, letting the angry expression dissolve. She smiled playfully. "I can't even argue with you." She put her hand on her hip. "I don't have the energy or the want."

Sasuke glared at her calmly. "Don't let it happen again."

She lifted a brow. "If you weren't so reckless, you wouldn't get smacked around as much. That'd make _my _life easier."

He stepped toe to toe with her. "_Your _life? _You_ walked off. _You_ didn't even have a _chance _of winning. I had to come back and _save_ you again."

She brought her chin up to his. "Why did I walk off again?"

Sasuke opened… and closed his mouth. "This is pointless."

"I know." She smiled, keeping her high. "I don't feel like fighting you either." Their faces stayed still until Sasuke drew back, aware of their audience once more. Suigetsu was looking suggestively at Sakura. That was going to stop.

"Do you remember her at all, Suigetsu?"

He shook his head. "I would remember _her_."

"Yes, well." Sakura turned to face him, ready for an onslaught. Sasuke was poised behind her. "We spent quite a bit of time together. I had black hair then and my name, as you knew it, was Hidaka Akane."

There was a fleeting silence before her words really sunk in. Karin reacted first. A wave of shock and fury slowly fell over her and she dove for Sakura.

Sasuke maneuvered around into her path and caught her shoulders. "Stop."

"Are you kidding me! That! _That _is Hidaka Akane! And you're _helping_ her!"

Sasuke was unfazed. "I've always been helping her."

"I can't believe this! She is from Konoha!"

"I don't hold any hatred towards Konoha. It just so happens that our target originated there."

Karin couldn't think of another jab and surrendered—a little.

Suigetsu backed away for a moment. His sword was sitting not too far from his right, stuck casually in the ground. Sasuke kept his eyes on it carefully. The last thing he needed was a fight with Suigetsu. But, surprisingly, he appeared relaxed.

Slowly he grinned, and then laughed aloud. "I can't believe it." He walked a little closer and Sasuke prepared to attack. Suigetsu didn't notice. "You look better with pink hair. You're already so aggressive… Black made you sinister."

Karin and Sakura gawked. Instead of dissuading him, this new revelation was backfiring on Sakura already.

"Did you know, Sasuke?"

He looked at each of them, settling his eyes on Sakura. "I had an idea."

Sakura rolled her eyes but kept a tight stance. She wouldn't be caught unprepared if Suigetsu snapped. "Liar," she muttered in Sasuke's direction.

He threw words back over his shoulder, "I knew from the beginning you weren't Hidaka Akane."

She couldn't retort that.

Sasuke continued. "You didn't disguise yourself well anyway. Your personality has flaws."

The woman laughed sarcastically. "My personality has flaws."

"You are too hotheaded. You exposed too much of your true identity. Had I been serious, I would have found you out."

Sakura released an agitated breath. He was just being honest in his own analytical way. "That's true enough."

Suigetsu seemed pleased by their interaction. "No wonder he favored you." He eyed her up haughtily. "If it were me… I'd love to do more than favor you. "

She glared, but it was Sasuke who answered, "I advise against that."

"Woah." He held up his hands.

Sakura let her shoulders unknot. It was clear that Sasuke's team wasn't a problem anymore. They were not their enemies.

Except for Karin. She broke away from Sasuke and circled like a violent animal. Sakura watched cautiously. Her bare hand creaked as she squeezed it into a fist. Karin was not going to take this easily.

Sasuke spoke patiently to her. "We don't have time for this. We know where Itachi is and we're going after him."

Karin snapped out of it for a moment, "You know where he is?" She went to his side in a flurry. "You can't, Sasuke-kun. You haven't recovered yet!"

Sakura spoke for him. "He's healed enough. I made sure of that. And we don't have the time to waste. If you want to check him over again, do it while we're on the move."

Karin immediately growled at her. "I wasn't talking to you."

Sakura huffed. Karin was just looking for fuel to attack her and Sakura wasn't about to indulge—though she would probably succeed in beating Karin close to death—because he body would, more than likely, give out. Her chakra had returned, but her body hadn't healed at all. She was waiting for the moment when things settled to focus on her own needs.

Sasuke knew this. "I'm fine, but we aren't leaving yet. Karin,—" She perked up with a loving baby face. "—help Sakura heal." Sakura glared at him. A small internal conversation began.

Her fierce eyes grumbled, 'Don't need it.'

He turned to her more fully. 'Really?'

She puffed through her lips, 'Of course, not.'

He poked her precisely on the joint where her shoulder met her collar bone. She yelped.

'Right.'

Sakura reached to touch her aching shoulder.

"Karin." He glanced at his female teammate. "Now."

She was caught in a moment of bewilderment. "No." She muttered. "I refuse."

Sasuke's head turned slowly.

"She has caused nothing but trouble. It was her fault that the Kyuubi got away. It was her fault that you got injured. If you die facing Itachi, it will be because of her." She took in a deep breath and pushed her glasses up on her nose so the rest wouldn't see her tearing up. "You need to be healed, Sasuke-kun. You can't lose against Itachi because of her. She shouldn't go with us anyway."

Sakura stepped forward. "He _won't_ lose. He _is _healed. If you are so insistent in doubting him, why are you following him? I will stay behind if that will better his chances. But it won't. Sasuke is Sasuke. You and I have nothing to say about it." Karin's head drooped a little. Sakura knew that face too well. She felt a pang of comradely in the emotional woman. Both of them were helpless to assist Sasuke. "If you don't want to heal me, that's fine. I won't slow him down, regardless." She gave Sasuke a sideways glance. "He can do without me, but I can't do without him." She stared at him, still addressing Karin. "I _am _coming. Healed or not."

Everyone was looking at Sasuke.

He paused.

"I'll heal you," Karin called loudly, "if that's what Sasuke-kun wants."

Sakura grinned and added wordlessly. "Hmm. Charity."

Karin exposed her pale arm and held it out to Sakura.

The pink haired kunoichi peered around curiously at the two men. "What?"

"Bite me." Karin commanded fiercely.

"What?" Sakura snickered. "No."

Karin's face flushed. "Bite me."

Sakura took an uncomfortable step away from Karin. "No. I don't want to."

"You have to bite me!" She moved closer to Sakura.

Sakura was red with embarrassment. "No! Back off!"

Sasuke sighed and grabbed Sakura before she ran. "Karin's chakra can heal a person very quickly."

Sakura looked up at him incredulously. "And you want me to bite her because…?"

Suigetsu answered with a little too much enthusiasm, "You have to suck it out."

Sasuke glared at him and Suigetsu laughed. "Just do it, Sakura." He gave her a push and she stumbled to Karin.

Karin avoided eye contact as she said, "Just get this over with."

Sakura took Karin's arm and observed the chakra. Up close she could tell something was strange about it. Reluctantly, she put her mouth near the skin.

"Just bite?"

Karin hissed, "Do it already!"

Sakura chomped on her arm and a flood of chakra entered her system. She could feel her nerves tingle and whimpered at the feeling. Her store of chakra was overloaded with this strange energy and she could feel her injuries stitching together. She waited until her shoulder jerked back into place.

Karin gave out a little cry and Sakura released.

Both fell to the ground.

"Wow!" Suigetsu was praising the display. "_That _is entertainment!" He smacked Sasuke on the back. "What did you think?"

Sasuke's eyes wandered to the woods around them as the women gathered themselves. Karin was shaking slightly. Sakura got up and helped Karin to her feet.

"Sorry," Sakura spat between clattering teeth. The surplus of chakra had her disoriented, but she was healed.

Karin pulled down her sleeve and readjusted her glasses. "Never again."

"You got that right."

Both turned to the men and glared at the cackling Suigetsu.

He sighed and the laugh died. He wiped away a tear, then looked at Sakura flirtatiously. "That was hot."

Her eyes narrowed and she snarled, "You better stop talking."

"Or what?"

Sasuke finished for her. "Or I'll make you."

Sakura turned to Karin. "I really am sorry. Thank you."

She grumbled. "I guess I'll just have to _deal_ with you." Then she looked at Sakura curiously. "I was surprised that you didn't remember."

The kunoichi lifted a peach brow.

"We woke you up regularly to heal you. You've been biting me for a while now."

"Seriously?"

Then Karin scowled. "Not for as _long_. Just now, that was excessive."

She blushed. "I said I'm sorry."

Sasuke approached her. "Are you well enough to travel?"

"Never better," She answered brightly.

Sakura took in Sasuke's expression. There was a little more concern there than she had noticed before. It was secretly comforting. Sasuke hadn't been consumed by the demon. How many days had it been? Not long. Yet he seemed completely normal again.

He read her thoughts like an open book and smirked.

She smiled peacefully. He was alright for now. He would have to be ready because next came the true battle.

She let him lead her into the forest with his teammates flanking them.

Her stomach flopped nervously. She knew Sasuke was strong. She knew this had to happen. When she ran away from him, she thought this part of his fate had died behind her. But it would never leave him.

Itachi was waiting.

* * *

Next Chapter – Partner and Enemy

…

Your enemies can't hurt you, but your friends will kill you.

_Ann Richards_


	10. Partner and Enemy

Playlist: I Win (Abra Moore), Violet Hill (Coldplay), No Response (MuteMath), Kill All Your Friends (My Chemical Romance), Pieces (Red), This is the End (For You My Friend) (Anti-Flag), and Don't Panic (Coldplay).

* * *

Your enemies can't hurt you, but your friends will kill you.

_Ann Richards_

* * *

…

Partner and Enemy

…

* * *

Sakura watched the back of a dark haired head. Her eyes fixed, mixed with confusion and curiosity. Her mind swam with questions. After waking, her thoughts had finally caught up with her. Their battle with Kabuto had left her wondering. What had she heard? What was illusion and what was truth?

In the back of her mind, she could hear it running over and over. Voices. Words exchanged that she had barely caught. And now she could finally grasp them.

She could still feel the hum in Kabuto's chest as he spoke in her memory.

"_The Uchiha were planning a coup. Didn't you know?"_

Sakura had read many files in the Hokage's office. She had read of many horrible incidents that were covered up for the sake of the public. But there was one mystery that had never been explained to her. As if no one wanted to speak of it, the file was left strangely blank… One of the largest holes in Konoha's history had always been the Uchiha massacre.

"_Weren't you ever curious why only the Uchiha were targeted? Or why Fire Country let it happen?"_

Every record said the same thing. There were no variations in detail. It was all cut and paste. And even those files were kept very, very secret.

"_It was a planned massacre. It was hushed up and put away nice and neat."_

Why? It didn't make sense. Kabuto wasn't saying that Itachi didn't commit the murders, but… questioned the reasons behind them. The motivation he had was so skewed compared to the stories and the files. Had the Hokage ignored the whole ordeal? Or… _was_ it planned…? Would the council and Hokage really make such a decision?

But that wasn't what bothered her the most. It was what Kabuto said about Itachi.

_"Why would Itachi leave you alive?"_

Sakura examined the possibilities in her mind and almost laughed aloud. There was no reason. None at all. Out of pity? Out of spite? Bitterness? Cruelty?...

If so, why not leave someone else alive. Why Sasuke? Why not their father? There were so many different ways to torture a human being. But not only did the ruthless butcher leave his brother alive, he also left him _unharmed_. Sakura couldn't put it together.

There was no reason. None.

"Sakura?"

Sakura's eyes came into focus on Sasuke's face as he looked over his shoulder. His expression was half suspicions and half amused.

She smiled simply as Kabuto's words slipped out of her primary thoughts.

"Sorry. I zoned out."

Sasuke rolled his eyes.

It was then that Sakura noticed their other companions. Suigetsu was holding onto Karin carefully. Her face was pale and covered in a sheet of sweat.

"Are you okay?"

"No!" Karin snapped back in a weak voice. Then she muttered under her breath, "You sucked me dry…" Her air ran out but pushed the words: "stupid woman" before reeling in Suigetsu's arms. She went limp for a moment and he pulled her drained body into his arms.

Sasuke spoke with mild frustration. "She used too much chakra healing you."

"Are we stopping?" Sakura avoided looking at him for a moment. It was partially her fault, after all.

"Yes."

She didn't even consider mocking his obvious disappointment. What he was anticipating was no laughing matter. His final battle with Itachi was what he looked forward to. Death. Devastation. Sasuke was anxious for the end of his brother's life, or his own.

Suddenly her stomach sank. Any humor in her face fell as the group of shinobi stopped on the ground. It was almost warm in the evening. The night was young and light with a red sun. As soon as Karin was on the ground, Sakura knelt beside her.

Her hand touched the grass and she smiled. It was alive again. Winter was over. But what was she waking up to now? Death? Sasuke's revenge, staring her in the face? Winter had only uncovered the horrible fate he would face.

And was it even worth it?

Why did thinks have to be uncovered? Why did the illusion have to melt away?

Kabuto's voice echoed painfully in her mind. It bounced off the walls, touching every memory of Sasuke and Itachi that she had witnessed or had been told about. Every ounce of research was being turned upside-down.

"How is she?"

Suigetsu's concern was scarcely hidden.

Sakura checked her quickly. "She's fine. She just needs rest."

The medic shuffled through Karin's bag. Sure enough, Karin carried sedatives. Sakura grunted. It was in pill form. They would have to wake her up.

"Do you have a soldier pill?"

He nodded and she held out her hand.

"Could you wake her up? Just for a minute. She needs to take these."

Sasuke monitored Sakura as she worked in silence, preparing the pills. Suigetsu roused Karin with little trouble.

The minute she saw Sakura's face she sneered. "I blame you."

Sakura rolled her eyes. She shoved the pills in Karin's mouth and the woman swallowed with a little cough.

Suigetsu glared at Sakura weakly. The kunoichi shrugged.

Karin, in her momentary consciousness managed to hiss, "Bitch."

"I gave you a soldier pill and a sedative. You'll be fine by morning. If you wake up again, take another dosage."

Karin sighed and relaxed in Suigetsu's arms. "Goodie."

She slipped into slumber and Suigetsu helped her back on the ground. He put his pack under her head and gently removed himself from the scene.

Sakura smiled at him while he wasn't looking and got two more pills ready.

"Will you watch her for me?"

He cocked his brow and grinned. "Too lazy to do it yourself?"

She chuckled and handed him the pills before he could respond.

He took them then answered sarcastically, "Oh, yeah. Sure. I'll watch her for you."

"Thanks. She won't be moving around for at least three hours."

Suigetsu set himself up at the base of a tree so he could see Karin.

Sakura smiled at the coziness of the situation and turned away. She didn't need to start a conversation with Suigetsu, especially if Karin could keep him otherwise occupied. Instead, she committed herself to a walk in the surrounding woods.

She wandered deep into the trees. The shadows were cool and the sun was warm. She was walking in and out of light. Like a heating lamp. On and off like a switch. On. And off. She let the methodical change sooth her thoughts. Kabuto… Itachi… Dark, confusing thoughts…

Had Sasuke thought about it?

Had he considered Kabuto's words? He probably wasn't listening. He probably didn't want to listen. Sasuke never spoke of Itachi. In the back of her mind, Sakura really wondered if he knew what was going on. If he _really_ knew. She wondered if he would really be able to kill Itachi. Not that he wasn't _capable _but that, mentally, he wouldn't be able to actually do it.

There was a sound that brought her back to life. It was a deliberate sound, like someone clearing their throat.

"Sasuke… I've been thinking." There was no response. He was waiting. "It's about Kabuto."

She pondered her words carefully. But Sasuke was impatient.

"Yes?" His voice seemed to come from nowhere.

She spoke clearly. "What did he say to you… about Itachi?" he didn't answer. "Do you remember?" She stared at the setting sun with no response from him. She whispered timidly. "I do." She knew he could hear.

"It's not important. He was just baiting me."

She laughed. "Was I not enough?" Then again, louder, embarrassed. "I'm sorry. What I meant was… why would he need me? If he wanted to bait you lying about Itachi was all he needed to do."

Sasuke pondered and answered offhandedly, "He was deranged. I don't know what he was thinking."

Sakura smiled. Then her lips twitched. He couldn't see her expression sink. "I don't think he was." She took a breath. "He talked to me before you came…" The woman shook her head, befuddled. "He knew exactly what he was doing. What he was talking about… he _was_ deranged, but… You weren't there… you don't know… He was fighting for control in every second. When he attacked me, when you fought him… He was struggling for power. He didn't have time to waste on taunts and lies." She spoke with her hands and moved her fingers to mimic her thoughts. "He chose his words carefully." She shook her head again. "He had been planning this meeting from the beginning. He had something to say to you. His purpose was to expose everything to you before killing you. He wanted you to know everything so that when he overcame you, it was because of Orochimaru's approval. He wanted you on a level playing field with him."

She heard a rustle. "Sakura, you can't know that." His voice was closer, still behind her.

"But it doesn't make sense. None of this does." She turned to where she imagined he'd be. But there were just trees. "Why would Itachi _want _to fight you?"

He didn't answer.

"There has to be a _reason_!!"

Suddenly there was a fury in the brush. "There isn't!"

She jerked back. His voice was as violent and uncontrolled as it had been with Kabuto. "He killed his family. He killed everyone he ever knew. What reason could there possibly be for that!? He killed all of them because he _wanted to._"

Sakura walked toward a particular tree and spoke softly.

"Everyone but you."

He paused.

"Spite."

"That's not the answer and you know it."

"Hate."

"No. No. It isn't." She could hear him moving again. "Don't run away from this!"

Suddenly he landed before her. "I'm not running! Do you realize what I'm doing?" He stepped forward, pushing her back. "Tomorrow could be my last day and you want to talk about this?"

"Because you _don't know_!" She caught her breath and heard his words again. What was he saying? His last day… "If tomorrow is…" She couldn't think about it. She threw her words in a different direction. "Please… Listen to me. What if… What if Itachi…"

"What if he loved me?" He snapped. "Is that what you want to say?" She couldn't speak. "What if he left me alive because he loved me?"

He pressured her and she took a feeble step back.

"Yes."

He turned his head away.

She spoke desperately. "There has to be something. Everyone is trying to hide what happened to you and Itachi and the Uchiha clan."

He was livid. "Are you saying it didn't happen? I was _there_! I watched them die! I saw it all!!"

Sakura threw up her hands, stopping his chest as he advanced again. "No! I'm not saying that… It's about Itachi… Did he do it alone? Was he doing it for an alternative purpose? Was he forced?"

His eyes were wild as he grabbed her hands and threw them away. "_Forced!?_"

"Sasuke!" As he started to turn, she gripped his arm and tore him back. "Sasuke! Please!" He half dragged her and she dug her heels in the grass.

After a pregnant pause, he stopped. "Forced…!? You think…"

"I don't know!" She answered quickly before he could misunderstand. "But what else explains it!? You _knew him_, Sasuke." She could feel his arm relax. The muscles were soft again. "He was _your _brother. You lived with him every day. You saw every side of him." She trustingly released his arm. "he's your brother. You know him better than anyone."

But that was a mistake. As soon as she let go, he tried to walk away again. "Apparently not."

"Sasuke! Stop! Wait…" She ran in front of him.

He pushed her side. "I won't listen to this anymore. What Kabuto said means nothing."

Sakura growled and chakra flooded her hands. Her heart pounded in her ears angrily as she grabbed his neck and whirled him into a tree. She held him, not choking. He allowed it, dead faced.

* * *

The buildings were all quiet. The sun had almost set on the Uchiha's Stronghold. The streets were just as cold as ever, but the ground seemed to shiver in anticipation. The small settlement was preparing itself for the wreckage of battle.

Walking in the streets there was one man. His body was covered by black shadows, all but his eyes that had a light of their own. Red. Like the green glistening an animal's eyes in a flash of light, his red eyes were animalistic, attentive and wise to the world's tricks. He opened his senses to the dirt and leaves around him. They told him everything. They told him about the stranger walking into the silent settlement and how he skillfully bound from one roof to the next. He didn't need his Sharingan to tell him who it was. Though the stranger was skillful, he was not quiet.

His presence was altogether loud. Loud footsteps, loud breathing… And the chakra that poured out of him alerted the animals. They scurried behind the trees to get away but they stayed just close enough so they would know when the two monsters met.

Itachi made sure the corner of the house was in sight as the potential enemy drew near. The stranger turned the corner just as Itachi had predicted and the face he saw smiled at him.

"Kisame."

The shinobi stepped into the light of the setting sun. His cloak was covered in red clouds.

"Long time, no see." He laughed grandly.

Itachi was careful as the man walked, prepared for anything. Then, when he stopped, Itachi turned his head to peek aimlessly at the forest.

"As social as ever."

Itachi kept his gaze away from Kisame. The man grinned stupidly at him, completely prepared for the cold shoulder.

"On the way here I noticed a team of Konoha's Root. And there's a rat snooping on the outskirts. Have you made new friends?" Kisame stared at the side of Itachi's uninterested head. "What's wrong? Are you so happy to see me that you've been moved to silence?"

With reluctance, Itachi spoke, but he did not turn. "Did Madara send you?"

Kisame played up mock shock. "How cold! Can't I check on my partner when I feel like it?" He continued with his report, "There are six. One scout and the other five are seven miles out. They've camped for the night, but I don't think they'll wait until morning. Since it _is_ Root, they'll try to sneak up while it's still dark, in the wee hours of the morning. The scout—"

Itachi sighed, his shoulders visibly slacked. "He's not _their _scout." He was agitated, not with the scout but the presence of his old partner. "He's been here for days, just waiting."

"Most would call that a scout."

"He's not waiting for reinforcements." Itachi snapped back.

"Are you saying he's waiting for Sasuke?"

Itachi turned. He glared with full force at the mention of his brother.

Kisame's grin faltered a little. He spoke with a joking tone, but Itachi knew he was being very serious. "Madara isn't happy about all of this." Itachi wasn't surprised. "Sasuke isn't supposed to find you."

"That is inevitable as long as we are alive."

Kisame bit hard on the word 'alive' and prepared a retort. But he reconsidered it and shut his mouth. There was no reason to get Itachi on edge any more than he already was.

"When did he tell you to kill me?"

Kisame was startled, but recovered with a smirk.

"A while back."

"You've had ample time." The man stated, lightly.

He shrugged. "I don't like to rush things. Besides, it's not like _you've _been busy. The only one I'm worried about is your brother. He has a habit of getting distracted."

Itachi lifted his eyebrow and challenged him: "Does Madara know that the Kyuubi is in Rain Country."

The shinobi didn't know how to react. He was taken off guard, which was clearly Itachi's purpose, but he was also extremely amused that Itachi was acting so childishly. "No. He doesn't." His amusement won and he laughed aloud. "Well, well! You _have _been busy! While leading your brother by the nose, avoiding Madara and Root, and staying alive—or as best as you can manage—you caught the Kyuubi. And you sent him to Ame." Kisame clicked his tongue. "That does put a dampener on a lot of plans."

"Good."

"Don't be so bitter." Kisame chuckled. "_I'm _not worried."

"You should be." Itachi's mood was more relaxed. "You never take anything seriously. It's a wonder that you're still alive."

"You told me that all the time, but—really—where does thinking get me?" He shook his head, scorning himself. "When I think too much, I kill too many people, or I kill the wrong guy, or I mess up an exchange, or I hear something I'm not supposed to hear, or I do something I'm not supposed to do. Whenever I eavesdrop and _try_ to be engaged, you yell at me—"

"I never yell."

Kisame tilted his head, riffed at Itachi's interruption. After a few seconds of silence, Kisame snapped. "You're a bitch and a half to talk to, you know?" His seriousness broke away and Itachi rolled his eyes at him. "Anyway, worrying isn't my thing. I'd sooner be an ignorant lackey than be ordered around by my superiors."

Itachi shook his head. "You don't like having superiors. You don't like being in the dark. You pick and choose whose side you're playing for. You're impulsive and stupid. You never worry because you take the easy way out of every situation that goes awry."

"Stop the psychoanalysis, it's creepy."

"You're too easy to read. A bear could understand you psychologically."

Kisame drew back and pointed at the shinobi. "Don't act so hoity-toity. I could write a book on your soap opera existence." Itachi's glare stabbed at him, but he didn't stop. "When you spend every day of decade with someone… You learn a lot."

The weight of their years together suddenly hit him. They had been on the same side for almost thirteen years. Though, in the last three years, they hadn't seen much of one another. The subject seemed suddenly very raw. He switched tactlessly.

"Your little brother, for example. You're being sloppy aren't you? Your timing is a little off. Your fight with Sasuke should be done and over with by now. It's not like you." He stared into Itachi's face, searching for the effects of his illness or maybe of some hidden piece of information. "Is something wrong?"

Kisame stopped when Itachi didn't answer. He was suddenly aware how far down memory lane he was going.

Madara gave him something to do, and that was the only thing really worth paying any mind to. "It doesn't matter. Just so long as he's alive. And all this spare time has given us the rare opportunity to catch up."

"I'm busy."

Kisame was serious. "Have your fun, Itachi, but your brother has other things to do."

"He is none of the Akatsuki's business."

"Oh, he will be." He laughed dryly. "Itachi. Sasuke won't fight you. I'll make sure."

There was a tense pause. Itachi's next words rolled off his tongue like liquid fire.

"If you interfere, you _will _die."

Kisame knew the jokes were coming to a close. Cautiously, he took a step back. Then with a sigh, he confessed, "You know, it doesn't have to be this way. You can leave all of this to Madara." The air was thinner again and Itachi gave him a doubting look. "I'll tell him you died."

"And take the credit for my death?"

"No. You died from your glorious disease. Peacefully. In your sleep… spread around you were the corpses of all the Root tracking you. I thought it was wrong to burn your body with theirs so your ashes are in a separate place. A place where they coincidentally won't be found. It'll work. Madara won't care. He trusts me." Madara's name brought him down slowly to reality. "That's simple, right? You can hide out somewhere far away and _drown_ in peace and quiet."

Itachi gave his reply punctually. "No."

Kisame gave a wide, wide grin. "Stubborn, aren't you?" He knew in his gut that Itachi could never avoid Sasuke. Sasuke had been his point of focus the majority of his life. Kisame knew that he was fighting the inevitable. Like pushing back an avalanche with a broken shovel. "So… This is it, then? I'll have to kill you?"

"Yes."

"Damn. How'd I get into this?" He took a big hand to his head and pushed back his dark hair.

Itachi waited for a moment. Then he smirked. "I would offer to let _you_ live, but you would never accept. You pride is too demonstrative." He removed his cloak and revealed the kunai he had been hanging onto.

"You know me too well." Kisame did the same after sticking the Samehada into the earth beside him.

Without a breath between them, Kisame charged Itachi.

Itachi dodged effortlessly and they traded empty blows. Slow, sleek movements without purpose passed between them. A warm up. Casually gaining speed.

Then Kisame hooked his fist a little too close to Itachi's jaw and the shinobi reacted instinctively. The kunai he had been holding flicked out of his grasp into Kisame's thigh.

The man skidded back near his sword and moved out of his crouched position, staring at his leg. Itachi likewise eased his aggressive stance. Kisame removed the kunai. The wound was shallow in his thick skin and only a small line of blood went down his leg.

Kisame looked up with brows raised. "That hurt."

Itachi rolled his eyes. "Liar."

"Does this mean you're done kidding around?"

"I never kid."

Kisame grinned and took the kunai in his teeth. He reached for the Samehada and gripped the handle well, flipping it once in the air.

As it fell into his open hand, Itachi shot out toward him with his hands in a familiar seal.

Fire poured out of Itachi and enveloped Kisame. His giant sword swung down where Itachi was sliding to a stop and he stopped the jutsu half way. The fire dispersed and from the smoke, the Samehada whirled at Itachi again. He pushed off the weapon, disheveling the bandage around it. The spikes teased his feet, but did not pierce.

Kisame leapt from the black cloud at Itachi, bringing around the monstrous blade for another blow. He swung it to Itachi's side who ducked flawlessly. His back touched the dirt and his legs folded beneath him. As the blade passed across his chest, brushing it, the muscles in his calves tensed. He leapt into the air, spinning far over Kisame's head.

In the dizzy summersault, he filled his fingers with shuriken. He landed and his ankles creaked. Itachi turned and threw the storm of silver at the defenseless back of his old partner.

His arm couldn't quite put the Samehada in between in time, so he whipped the kunai out, flipping it between his callous fingers to block the first few.

The shuriken were knocked away, bouncing with a clang.

Then, when the Samehada dropped between him and the attacks, he flung the kunai out at Itachi.

Itachi almost brushed it away, bombarding him even more.

While distracted, Kisame didn't notice Itachi flicker out of sight. He searched for a split second. But instead of seeing the shinobi, he stared into a clean reflection of his shocked expression. Itachi's drawn blade slid past Kisame's neck and the skin puckered. Blood dripped on the metal, obstructing Kisame's mirror image.

The two were face to face. Itachi smirked lightly, amused, and Kisame grinned.

Itachi readily backed off when the Samehada threw off the blade threatening to decapitate Kisame.

With that rushed swing, the clean bandages fell from Kisame's weapon and the Samehada's teeth shivered. They could smell Itachi's chakra. Never before had it tasted the tempting smell after all the long years of partnership. But it was fair game now.

Kisame whirled the blade and the handle stretched like an uncoiling snake.

The Samehada reached for Itachi and he knocked it back with his katana. He felt his strength drain slightly. When he prepared to evade, the Samehada was already coming for a second try.

Itachi was pushed further and further back. He stumbled as Kisame knocked him more and more off balance. For a moment, his eyes blurred and he felt blood swell in his throat. Heat shot through his chest and he lost his bearings.

Before he could gather himself, Itachi had sidestepped into a wall. The Samehada was ready and batted him through the wall of that building, into a cloud of rubble.

Kisame drew back the blade and the building slowly fell apart.

"Come on, Itachi. Drag your ass back out here."

The crumbling stopped, but the sound was still there.

Kisame quirked his head and took a step forward.

His foot didn't collide with the ground, but fell through and he tripped forward. He cursed and tried to regain his stance.

Itachi burst from the earth and struck Kisame hard in the gut. Simultaneously, the tip on his blade flung dirt into his eyes and Kisame breathed in the grit. His eyes shut and he heard Itachi take in a deep breath.

Suddenly there was fire all around him, but this time it didn't stop.

Kisame stared into the flames, shielding his face. The Samehada squirmed and the flames were drained from the air. Kisame ran forward, hoping to escape, but the flames followed him.

In the red and yellow light, he saw a shadow. Shuriken flew through the fire and stuck in his side. He looked around him, disoriented. Before he could react, Itachi appeared in the swells of smoke, breathing fire. The tongues of light lashed out and blinded him.

Kisame felt cool metal rip his clothes and Itachi's katana was plunged into his shoulder. He immediately grabbed the blade and held Itachi in place. The Samehada cut through the flames and knocked Itachi back. With him, the fire stopped.

The blue shinobi staggered back, holding the sword loosely. Blood boiled in his mouth and he spat it out. He pulled out Itachi's weapon and threw it back. His body was covered in burns and he smoldered quietly. From his arm he plucked the shuriken.

His voice gurgled. "Pain in the ass. You're a pain in the ass Itachi."

He gripped the Samehada and the handle stretched its yellow teeth in his skin. Dark chakra poured into his body and his skin sizzled. Every wound healed from the inside out, closing up without a scar. His shoulder, which had created a puddle of red at his feet, seamlessly came together.

Kisame hacked a little and let a thick collection of blood hit the ground with a loud splat. "Are you trying to kill me?"

Itachi didn't move. "Yes."

"Well, damn…" Kisame nodded with a laugh. "I don't have a comeback for that…"

Kisame let the toothed blade ripple in his hand. A mouth gradually opened. Saliva and a thick tongue poured out. The sword made a sound like a rumbling giggle. Itachi's chakra was so close… It was anxious. It only saw Itachi as pray now.

Kisame said, with a little bitterness, "I hate you, you know that? You're an ass hole. You don't even have to try to do some damage once you finally decide to stop dancing around and _stab_ me… Or _throw_ a ton of shit at me…" He laughed darkly. "But I can take hits. That's the only think keeping me alive…"

The Uchiha's fist clenched and unclenched near his heart, like he was pushing on his lung. The pain had intensified ever since he used the katon jutsu.

"I told myself I'd never make you my enemy."

Itachi smirked. "You're not." He cleared his throat. "You are not competent." He coughed loudly and held his mouth. The other hand clutched his heart.

Kisame's face twisted. He watched a bead of blood spill over Itachi's lip. "Let's make this quick."

Itachi bent down with difficulty and picked up the sword with his bloodied hand.

Kisame tried not to look at Itachi's red palm. It made him sick to see it.

After ten years, they had minutes.

Years of partnership, and minutes to murder it.

* * *

The campfire cracked, filling in the empty spaces between their bodies. Their pauses, their silence was heavy with the words unspoken.

Yoko stared at the ground, waiting for sleep.

But none of them would sleep tonight.

She rubbed her head with her hands, breathing in and out. Her stomach swelled and sloshed. Tomorrow held too much tension. It held too many difficult thoughts. Her only escape was sleep.

But it wouldn't come.

Hi monitored with keen eyes, not on the forest around them as he was ordered, but on the group by the fire.

His mouth was sewn shut by Taii. Sai had become a taboo subject.

But he wanted to know why. He wanted to know why. Wasn't this like killing any old target? He felt a little resistance to the thought. Sai was a part of them. At least, he once was.

He noticed Yoko's head bob. She was supposed to be asleep until her watch. Hi could tell though, that none of them were really capable of relaxing. Though their bodies didn't move, their minds were alive with the thoughts of tomorrow.

Sai. Sai. Sai.

The concept of it… Killing one's former comrade. It was sickening. It was the nightmare of any operative. When on a mission, there was always the instinctive fear of death. But never from one of your own. Sai wouldn't suspect a thing.

If Yoko walked up to Sai the next morning, she could stab him in the neck without any protest from him. He'd be dead on the ground before he even realized he had been betrayed by his own teammates.

Though he was not directly connected to any of them, they were still suffering at the idea of taking out one of their own. He was… an extension of them. Murder. It wasn't a mission… It was murder. Cold blooded. There was no way to rationalize it. Murder.

Hi moved to Yoko.

He waited for her to notice him.

She had, but refused to look up.

All of the shinobi listened intently as he spoke. The first words in hours.

"It's your shift."

"Alright." She didn't move.

Hi sighed. "What are you thinking? You haven't slept a wink yet." None of them had. "You won't be ready for the mission."

The resistance in her expression was clear enough.

"What are you thinking about?"

The Root around him shifted in their places uncomfortably.

"What did Sai do wrong? Is that it? Is that what you're thinking?" Silence. "I don't know. No one told _me_. Taii knows… maybe. Maybe not. I don't think anyone does, honestly. I don't think anyone knows why we've been sent to kill him."

"But you'd be happy to be rid of him, wouldn't you?" Yoko spat bitterly.

He shook his head. "No. I was just joking around." He looked at her with a smiling face and half laughed. "I don't like his personality. He puts people in a bad mood. But I never once earnestly wanted to kill him."

"Well, you _have_ to now."

"Yeah… But why did he leave? Why would he go rogue? Why betray the most powerful group in Konoha. And why would we know where he's headed? How do we know what he's after."

"We don't."

"Taii does." A few eyes turned to their captain, but Hi stayed focused. "At least we think he does. We know where he'll be. I mean, how is it this easy? Sai should know better than to hang around one place for too long."

"Maybe he's gone crazy."

"Or maybe not."

Yoko peeked from behind her hair, "Maybe not."

"What if Danzou is pulling our leg."

Taii cleared his throat. He wouldn't tolerate conspiracy theories.

Yoko stood. "I'll take up my shift. Get some sleep."

Hi followed her to the edge of the camp with persistence. "What has Sai done?"

"He's betrayed Root."

"How!? Don't you think we should know?"

"No one knows why."

"Someone has to know! Either someone knows, or someone lied."

Yoko whispered harshly. "You are being stupid. Save your paranoid delusions for someone who cares."

Without missing a beat, "You care." Hi stared her in the face. "You care about Sai. You care that you don't know what happened. You care that we have to kill him. You think… you… It isn't humane. Is that what you think?"

Yoko said nothing.

"We don't know what Sai has done and we're going to kill him anyway. That isn't humane. That's what you're thinking. You don't want to do this. You don't want to kill him. Are you going to turn on us too?"

The air thickened. Though the two had moved away, the team listened intently. Yoko's inner conflict hadn't been in their minds, but it was now.

"Nothing escapes Root. We know anything and everything before the anyone else. If Sai is guilty of something _we _haven't even heard about… How are we so sure that _we_ haven't done something wrong? It was so sudden. Snap. He was a traitor. How do you know who to trust? How do you know _I _won't turn on you?" He took in a shaky breath. "What if I killed you right now. Would you be prepared for that?"

Yoko didn't move.

"You wouldn't, would you." He paused. "Would you kill him from behind if you had the chance? Would you keep from looking at his face when you did it. Is that how it'll happen? Is that what you'll do?"

She said nothing.

"Or maybe I'll do it."

The muscles in her neck stretched.

"Maybe it won't be you…"

Her jaw was tight.

"But I don't think I could do it. I couldn't kill him. Could you?"

Taii stood, reminding Hi of his presence.

Hi was not unaware.

"What do you think? Would you kill him?" Hi's honesty twisted like a knife in her heart. "No. I don't think you would. I've thought about it and none of us could kill him. I don't think anyone _should_ kill him."

What was their purpose? What was their reason for killing Sai, other than to uphold order in a village that tore itself apart? If they were told to slaughter women and children for the sake of order, would they do it?

Could they? After seeing so much doubt… After witnessing the change of heart their entire nation went through… After seeing every person they knew walk away… After seeing them choose what was life-threatening over what they were told… What was their reason for killing now? Who did they need to protect?

Yoko opened her mouth. It seemed like dust had gathered there. Her voice was very quiet.

"What about tomorrow then." She licked her lips. "What about the mission. What should we do."

Hi sat down on the ground beside her. His jaw dropped and he pondered his intuition.

"Why not go and see? Witness it?"

Retsu interjected, curious. "Witness what?"

"I don't know… Tomorrow."

Yoko chuckled dryly. "Do you know what will happen when we go back to Konoha without killing Sai?"

"We'll die."

Once again, his honesty was too much. She laughed out loud. "Yes. Yes, we'll die."

"Are we any different than Tsunade-sama? Or the people who left? Isn't death waiting for them in Konoha too?"

"They're _traitors_."

"Why? For wanted to defend their honor? Their lives? For wanting to save their comrades?"

She couldn't retort him.

Yoko put a hand on her forehead. "I'm getting a headache." She lowered her face more, hiding the smile growing there. "I'm not in the mood to argue with you."

"That's good. I'm sick of your bad arguments."

Rei spoke out, "What are you thinking, Hi? Are you abandoning the mission?"

"Why not?"

"What you're saying is treason."

Yoko turned back into the small light of the campfire. "Rei…"

"Don't do this, Yoko. We've been ordered…"

Retsu stood and walked to Yoko's other side. Yoko jerked back and Rei's eyes lit up. Retsu's intimidating size could convince anyone. Rei was hopeful.

But instead of intimidating, he smiled. "There isn't enough evidence against Sai. I won't kill someone without meaning. Let's go to where he'll be and see for ourselves what we're dealing with. Maybe there's been a misunderstanding. And if not…" He invoked a sterner voice. "We will complete the mission."

Hi grinned and stood up again. He held out his hand, "I can accept that." They shook. Then Hi half hugged Retsu to pat him on the back, reaching high.

Seconds passed and slowly each head turned up to look at the last two members of their squad. Rei stood in the shadow of her leader.

Their captain.

He had a clenched fist pressed firmly against his lips. Contemplating. His eyes were almost savage.

Retsu gazed across the fire. "Taii."

"I can't listen to this." He blurted. "I can't. This mission… We _need _to do this."

Hi looked plainly back, "Why?"

"Don't question. Don't disobey." Rei chimed in, repeating the words they had been trained to follow.

"Why?" He asked again.

"Does it matter?"

Yoko looked at her friend. "Yes." Rei made eye contact for a second before pulling away. "It matters to me."

When Yoko and Hi flanked Retsu, Taii reached for his weapon pack, fur bristled.

Retsu's calming voice tried to reach him, "We're not your enemy here. We're just making a decision."

"You _are_ an enemy. If you abandon this mission, you're just like Sai. We'll be ordered to kill you too. You know too much."

The giant was shocked. "We _know_ too much? Is that what this is? Is Sai a traitor because he _knows_ too much?"

Retsu received no answer.

His tone deepened, "How do you know that Danzou won't have _you_ assassinated eventually? We _all _know too much." He pointed at his old friend and asked him with sincerity. "What has Sai done wrong?"

"He is a threat to this nation."

Retsu was angry now, "What nation!?" He stepped closer to the fire. It cracked loudly. "Who are you following now? Who are you fighting for now? Your family _evacuated_, Taii."

"Stop it." Confidential. It was all confidential. Root weren't supposed to have a family.

"Your family has already escaped! They're traitors just as much as Sai is a traitor. Your wife and your _children. _They're traitors, right? Just as much as we are traitors… _Your family_!!If you had left with them, we would be hunting you, isn't that right?"

The man was shell-shocked. He stared blankly at his former friend.

"But you _didn't _leave. You stayed. Why? Are you such a coward that you would choose your own life over theirs!?"

There was a long silence. The five of them looked slowly around at the others. Rei's eye contact with Yoko broke and she turned to Taii, making her final decision.

Retsu pleaded with him one last time, calling out his real name. "Daisuke!!"

His mouth dropped. His friend called out to him. Friend. But. He couldn't have a name. He couldn't have a family.

Secrets.

His faith had been poured.

Into Retsu.

He couldn't.

Take.

It in.

Taii, an obedient soldier. Daisuke, a husband and father of two beautiful children. They couldn't both exist. They couldn't both win. Taii was the name of his survival. Daisuke was the name of his demise.

Taii eyes were wide when he met glances with Rei.

Before another sound or move could be made, the two vanished in the darkened forest.

The echoes of Taii's name clung to the damp air.

The three stood without a sound.

Hi's voice caught in his throat, "Shit."

The woman looked up at Retsu. "What now."

"I don't know." He walked to where Taii had been. "They'll be where Sai is tomorrow. Without a doubt. Daisuke will call for reinforcements."

Yoko didn't think so, "They need all the shinobi they have in Konoha."

"Then maybe none will come."

Hi's lips were closed in a thin line. His eyes moved from side to side, where he had been sitting. Where Yoko was. The fire. Retsu. The fire.

"Was I wrong?"

The three held their breath for one, excruciating moment of silence.

"No. You weren't. You just had the best instincts."

"I didn't mean for this to happen."

"The line was drawn long before."

Yoko bit back sarcastically. "Oh, I see. So, you knew this was coming?"

"No, it just makes sense. Why should Sai's crime be kept from us? This could be foul play. And in our team, from the beginning, there were those who would follow blindly and those who would need a reason."

"Let's hope there is a reason." She sat down by the fire again. "I don't want to die for nothing tomorrow."

Hi smiled and sat beside her. "So you're coming?"

"Of course."

Retsu joined them. "I'll take the next watch." He settled down, suggesting that Hi follow his example.

Yoko stayed awake, waiting until the men closed their eyes.

In her solitude, she smiled. She laughed aloud a little and smiled. She was glad.

Glad.

* * *

Sakura kept her fingers tight on his hot skin. She could feel his pulse thudding angrily.

"After the massacre… Did the officials ask you what happened?"

He answered plainly. "Of course."

"Did they take a statement?"

He turned his head to her, eying her up like she was the most ridiculous person alive.

She roared in his face, "Did they!?"

His eyes flickered. "Yes!"

"I read the file on the Uchiha clan, Sasuke. Did you? Did you ever look at it?" His eyes were glazed. "Did you." He stared past her head. "Sasuke."

He took a lengthy inhale and spoke with clarity that covered any pain he could possess. "I didn't need a reminder. I know what happened. I know who died. I don't need to look at a list to know who has been taken from me."

"I read it. I read it all." He wasn't surprised. "Your testament wasn't there."

His eyes dragged onto her face again. "What?"

"There wasn't a list. There were no names. None."

"That's a lie." He bore into her eyes.

She smiled sadly. "Why would I lie to you!?"

"You didn't read the real file. That was a fake."

"When I became Tsunade's apprentice, I read the file. I knew it was fake. There was a short sentence on a piece of paper saying everyone was killed by Uchiha Itachi and the only survivor was Uchiha Sasuke. No names, just a date and that sentence. Attached was a warrant for Itachi's arrest." She ignored his obvious disinterest and continued. "Then when I became a Jounin, I read what I hoped to be the real file. It said the exact same thing."

He shrugged. "That clearance didn't cut it. The Uchiha clan has a rare Kekkei Genkai. Just like the Hyuuga clan and the Yamanaka."

"I had clearance to all of _those_ files when I was just Tsunade's apprentice. She trusted me. I had to give an oath just to read them. They told me things about those clans… I never would have imagined. Secrets that I must die with." She let those memories fade, leaving only the picture of a thin manila folder in her mind. "All but yours. The Uchiha clan. I thought that when I became a part of the ANBU I would see the truth."

Sasuke's interest was regained. He waited for an answer. Doubting, ready to discredit her words. ANBU was good enough. That was clearance enough. She knew the truth, just as he did.

"It was the same. Three identical files, Sasuke. Three of them. There were three copies of the same empty file, Sasuke. Each of them on a different level of clearance."

His eyes narrowed, confused.

"I was in the _ANBU_ and I read the _same_ line again. I _never_ saw your statement or any statement, for that matter. I didn't see any names. Nothing."

He didn't believe it.

"The medical records. All of the Uchiha medical records are gone."

"There's no need for their records. They're dead." His voice was unsure, as if he were confirming it for himself as well.

"The hospital keeps every record. Every single one."

He stated again, coldly. "They're dead."

Then the catch. "What about you?"

Sasuke didn't understand.

"And Itachi? The hospital has a place for the files of missing nin. They keep track of them to exploit weaknesses in battle. Where are yours and Itachi's?"

"What?"

"I was a part of the ANBU. No one is above me in status but the Hokage and the council. The Hokage let me read everything there was to know about the Uchiha. When she gave me the Uchiha file, I thought she was joking. That file was all that existed. That file with you and your brother's name in it is the only thing that documents your existence." She released his neck. Her voice was full of disbelief, "Why would anyone do that? What would they want to hide?"

"They? Who?"

"I don't know. But _Kabuto_ knew something. And Itachi knows something… It's so wrong…" She leaned her head back. The other holes in the story started popping up. She had forgotten one important detail through her travels. "Sasuke… There was another one with the Sharingan in the Akatsuki. I saw it. He had on a mask but, while we were fighting, I saw his eye." She pivoted away, concentrating. "Maybe he's like Kakashi… But I don't think so. It wasn't the same. It was real. It was his. His chakra was a lot like yours. But they're all dead, right, Sasuke?" She looked at him. "Did you see anyone else live? Escape?"

"How…" He was completely taken aback. "No one… lived."

"I don't know, but Itachi will. Itachi will know."

"It doesn't matter."

"Yes it does. Sasuke… Itachi will tell you."

He was angry again. His hate was subduing all other thoughts but revenge. "Why. Why should he tell me anything? He never told me anything. No one did. When I was a child, he was constantly sheltering me. I never knew what was going on until it was too late. Why should he tell me anything!?" Sakura opened her mouth. He knew what she wanted to say. "If you say it…"

Sakura huffed, it was useless. She wasn't angry or disappointed, only sad. "It's the only thing that makes sense. He protected you. He loved you."

"Not him. Never."

"Then why!?" She lashed out, "He is your brother!!"

"_He is not my brother_."

"If you can't accept that, you are ignorant."

He turned on her, staring at her with a suffocating intensity. "You know nothing!"

She shouted back, "Neither do you!" She shoved his chest away. "You keep saying that you're not running. That they're all lying to you. But it's all true!" She jabbed her finger at him. "You _are _running. You aren't listening!" She yelled desperately. "_Why_ would they lie to you? Why? You have to learn how to tell truth from lies before your stupidity kills you!"

"You're one to talk."

She moved her mouth slowly, keeping in her rage. "Don't turn this on me. I know I make a lot of mistakes, but at least I try. Because I chose to chase after you as an ANBU, my friend died." Her frustration was subsiding. "But I _found_ you again. Because I tried to stop the Kyuubi from killing people, I got hurt. But I kept Naruto from feeling the guilt of killing the people he loves." She could almost smile. "I was stupid enough to argue with you and I chose to fight Kabuto on my own. A lot has happened. But I don't regret it… because you're here now. The rewards seem small, but… It's what I want. That's all I can ask for."

"One day you will sacrifice too much. One day the price will be too great and the reward won't save you."

She smiled sadly. "Fine by me."

And he growled back, "I won't let you do something stupid if I can stop you."

"And neither will I!" She threw out her hand, presenting his path to him. "_This_ is stupid, Sasuke. All of it is. Why are you going to ignore all of the signs and go in any way!? The council, Kabuto, Itachi… Are you going to just shut your ears to what every sign, every hint is telling you!?"

He didn't stare at her anymore. He tried to ignore her. But it was too late, he had heard her words.

"Look me in the face and tell me you didn't love your brother and that he didn't love you."

He couldn't.

Instead, he muttered, "What I'm doing isn't stupid."

"But it's for stupid reasons!"

"What should my reasons be?"

"I don't know…"

"Let me know when you choose something better for me." He set his sights on the campfire in the distance and took a step.

Sakura touched his arm. "Sasuke." He hesitated and she let her hand drop. "I want you to be satisfied whatever the truth is and whatever the outcome is tomorrow. I want you to be left with nothing but…" She couldn't think of the right words. She was too afraid he'd leave before she had time to pull them together. "You…" But he didn't move. He waited. She took a breath, staring at the side of his face, covered by shadows. "I don't want you to regret not thinking everything through… You… You're about to kill your brother."

"He isn't—"

"_You don't know_. You don't know what Itachi is thinking." She wrapped her hand around his arm, not pulling, just touching him. "What if it's nothing like you've been told. What if all the records in Konoha couldn't explain what has happened to your family. What if everyone is wrong. What will you do?"

"Tomorrow, I will kill Uchiha Itachi."

Sakura couldn't think of anything else to say. Her theories had run out. Her energy to fight him was gone. Her stubbornness was spent. Her curiosity was thrown to the ground and stepped on. It was stupid, really.

But she didn't regret it. Not entirely. She wanted to say it aloud. Maybe, now that it was in the open, Sasuke would think about it. Maybe he would ask Itachi.

Pipe dreams.

She slid her arms around him carefully. He didn't tense up or ignore her. Not a rejection.

"Kabuto thought that Itachi had reasons."

"I know."

"But it doesn't matter?"

"No."

"Sasuke…"

"I know what Kabuto said. I know. I listened. I heard everything. About the Uchiha's betrayal to Konoha. About Itachi… _choosing _to kill my family. I don't understand. It's true, I don't know why the ANBU didn't interfere. I don't understand why the Hokage didn't do anything to stop him… Was it really their intention? Was Itachi _forced_… It makes me sick. Thinking about it. I've been so—I can't fathom it. If what Kabuto said was true… Everything the world has told me would be turned upside-down. Everything I've believed and lived for all this time would be meaningless. What kind of life have I been living if it all isn't true. How could I ever be free of my past if killing Itachi won't set things right?

"I almost wish that it was true. Sometimes. I wish that what Kabuto said was real. If so, I wish that Itachi had said no. I wish Fire Country had been torn to shreds. Then maybe one of the people I loved could have been spared. Then maybe my mother would be alive. Or my father. Or my friends. Itachi would still be with me. He would be my brother."

Sakura held him closer.

"But that's not what happened. Regardless of his reasons… Itachi killed everyone that I ever loved. And everyone that ever loved him. And I can't forgive him for that."

The kunoichi whispered softly, "And about _his_ guilt?"

"If he is guilty… then I will release him. Two birds with one stone. I'll kill him. And neither of us will suffer anymore."

She waited. His chest was tight with more words.

"Other things Kabuto said. I've thought more about them."

When he didn't elaborate right away, she prodded him. "What things?"

He took in a breath. His cool black eyes lifted higher. He absorbed the night. Cold. But not winter. The seasons were changing. The heart of the world was warmer. Finally reaching out for the sun. Mother Nature was ready for change. She was ready to touch the fire of her Sun and breath in the clouds of summer. Sasuke knew which one he would be: winter or summer. He knew who Sakura would be: winter or summer. He had been locked inside a world of white for so long, he had forgotten what a colored sky could create. He had forgotten what it felt like to fear for another. He had forgotten what it felt like to share pain.

As he felt her small hands around his waist, he missed the feeling.

"I've thought about you." He almost touched her hand, but hesitated. "Do you remember anything Kabuto said about you?"

"Yes."

His life in Konoha was a warm memory. Though it carried so much anguish in it, he learned to find a home again. He found a home in Naruto and Sakura and Kakashi.

"I hated it. I hated letting you leave. I didn't know what to do… I knew what I had to do. Just like now. I know that I have to kill Itachi. But when you ran off, I couldn't think about him. You left and all I could think about was how mad I was at you. How stupid you were. How much I hated that feeling…

"I followed after you. On a "whim" like he said. Then when I saw you there… You were right. You were bait enough. He didn't have to talk about Itachi or mock me. Nothing he said made me want to kill him more. All he had to do was stand there with you… I hated it. Feeling useless. Out of everything he said to me, whenever it was about you I wanted to slaughter him where he stood. Sakura… You are the only thing that I haven't lost. I wanted to leave Konoha because I couldn't think that way. I couldn't believe that there were things to me as precious as my dead clan. Our team was everything to me."

"We're still here."

He shook his head. "It doesn't make sense."

"It doesn't have to." She actively controlled the shaking in her voice. "We've all lost things. We've all lived in a time of death and war. We built hope together. It doesn't matter how far apart we are… You mean everything to us too. You mean everything to me."

Sasuke concentrated on his breathing. "Where's the sense in that?"

She smiled, though he couldn't see. "I'm trying."

Sakura felt her heart rise. It was so confusing. Sasuke's mind was something she would never be able to sort out. Even with Itachi consuming so much of him, Sasuke still knew who he was. He still knew that Team 7 was with him. Though Sakura couldn't really answer for Naruto and Kakashi, she knew it was true. Her dream was to see those three standing together. Kakashi would be suspicious, but, ultimately, relieved. Naruto would pretend to be mad, but his joy would overshadow everything. Sasuke would act aloof, but internally sigh. It was her dream.

But much had to happen before then. She had to save Naruto. She had to find Tsunade. They had to return to Konoha. She would have to fight, tooth and nail, to protect everything she hoped for. And she would have to let Sasuke unknot himself, without interference.

With that, she came to a small conclusion. Sasuke couldn't be helped. His journey, his life, his meeting with Itachi was out of her hands. Though she had been gripping onto it for so long, she could do nothing.

Her persistence had done only one thing. It hadn't solved the mystery of Itachi and the Uchiha clan. It hadn't saved Sasuke from his internal conflict.

It had brought them together.

They understood each other on one level: they needed the other. Just like Sakura needed Naruto and Kakashi. He was her everything.

Sakura hugged him from behind and all she could say was: "A lot's happened."

"Yes. A lot has happened."

They didn't move.

Her neck was taut. Itachi was waiting for them when the sun rose. Their battle, brother against brother, was finally coming to fruition. She could do nothing more.

"Can I stay with you?" She squeezed a little tighter around his waist.

"I can't tell you what will happen tomorrow."

She spoke into his shirt. "Please… Let me go with you as far as I can."

With a small pause he responded. "Don't do anything stupid."

She hummed a laugh.

"Promise me."

"What."

His hand brushed over her skin. "Promise me you won't get yourself killed over something stupid."

She mumbled, "You're not something stupid." Then she reluctantly answered. "I promise…"

He relaxed and they parted. He turned to look at her but her eyes were on the ground.

She could almost see it happening. She could feel the sweat gathering on her brow. Just like the blood would gather in the dirt. She would stand aside, helpless to what was coming. In the end, she would be standing over a corpse.

She murmured fearfully. "You too…"

He stepped closer, unable to hear. The space between vanished and their silhouettes in the night meshed.

"Promise me…"

Sakura lifted her head and placed her palm on his, clutching his fingers desperately. He leaned toward her carefully and she put her lips at his ear. Her face tightened and she shut her eyes. She resisted a sob and shakily breathed in.

"_Promise_ me… that you'll live."

He pulled away so she could see his face. It was thoughtful, dark, but honest. He pressed his forehead against hers. In that moment he realized what it looked like in her eyes. He realized what she had meant. They were two searching souls, saying the same thing. That strange agreement elated him. And it tormented him. This thread between them was suddenly fragile.

He closed his eyes as she did, moving his forehead against hers. Their hair pushed together messily. When he opened his eyes, he found determination.

It wasn't just about revenge. It was survival. It was hope that tomorrow wouldn't be the last day.

Sasuke leaned down to Sakura and his lips tapped hers. The pause between was just long enough for him to answer:

"I will."

Their shadows moved together, and there was no sound.

* * *

Itachi leapt back as the jagged teeth dragged too close to him. The handle wrapped around Kisame's wrist and the spikes slipped under his skin.

He slung the weapon and the shark's head lashed in the air. Itachi blocked feebly with a kunai, feeling the muscles strain in his arms. Explosions in his bones. The mouth was not stopped. It grew larger, snarling at him.

Kisame pushed Itachi further back in the road. The mouth chomped closer and closer, and Itachi evaded by inches.

The man's eyes were dull with rage. Kisame let the monster at the end of his arm writhe and bite the air. He rolled, his legs twisted and he was an animal. A beast of killing. Filled with misery.

Itachi couldn't avoid him forever.

His Sharingan twirled silently and Kisame was thrown into a loose illusion.

He stopped, his sword still alive. The mouth opened and closed slower and slower, gnashing its teeth. Kisame and the living weapon delved deeply into a blinding illusion. His heart pounded in his ear. Vulnerable. He was vulnerable. Itachi could kill him like this.

He took a step, trying to recall his surroundings. He tried to feel Itachi's chakra, but couldn't. He leapt where, in his memory, there was clear ground.

"Don't hide from me, Itachi!"

Itachi's voice echoed back. "I'm not hiding."

"Chicken shit!" Kisame swung. "You've been hiding this whole time!"

Suddenly the Samehada tugged at his arm. It was hungry. It was devouring the chakra of the illusion. Kisame could almost see the ripples of black being sucked into one spot, the open mouth of the Samehada.

The edges of the black were fading and his blurry vision found the light. Out of the silhouettes he found Itachi.

He dove forward and the Samehada gnawed greedily on something.

The lights suddenly came on and Kisame was staring into the pained face of Itachi.

His arm was in the mouth of the demon sword.

Itachi's face twisted and he wrenched his arm out, shredding him. As he drew back, he flung his useless muscles at Kisame and blood splattered on his face.

The man cried out angrily, wiping away the red from his eyes.

Itachi was going at him with his katana again.

Kisame blocked and the blade met the Samehada.

But something wasn't right. He didn't hear the clang of metal.

When he realized the truth, it was far too late.

The same moment when the katana should have been blocked, Kisame felt something cold touch his back.

He looked down and saw the reddened tip of metal sticking through him.

Kisame lifted his head again and Itachi was gone. Had he even been there?

An illusion. Illusion.

His body was frozen for a second and that was long enough for Itachi. He dragged the blade through the man's organs and ripped it out of his skin, just under the ribs.

Kisame collapsed on the ground and held his side. Blood poured out and surrounded him on the dirt like a black mirror. He stared at his own face, then felt a heat in his throat. Through his pressed lips, a black stream forced its way through. He wished inside that it wasn't blood. The night had hidden its color and he hoped that it was still part of the illusion.

But it was Itachi's real feet in front of him. That was no mirage.

Kisame chuckled, spewing flecks of blood through tight teeth. "You don't fight fair."

Itachi drew a little closer, his foot almost touching the ring of death around his fallen opponent.

Before he could say, "neither do you," Kisame shot out the Samehada and it brushed Itachi's torso. He grabbed Itachi's weapon with his bare hand and snapped it. Metal shards and sparks flew in the air.

The shinobi leapt back and Kisame stood again. The power of the Samehada flowed into him and he felt his skin stretch. His stomach healed in seconds, at least on the surface. His organs were too badly diced.

Kisame allowed the animosity to fuel him.

"_Baku Suishouha!_" He leapt into the air and water, tainted with the blood still dribbling between his teeth, shot out in a thick current from his mouth. He commanded it and rode it toward the retreating Uchiha.

Itachi quickly got to higher ground. He had seen Kisame fight too much to underestimate him.

The Samehada was shrinking in Kisame's hand and his face and body was becoming more and more distorted.

His skin was lighter, sharper. Spikes and fans of skin formed on his arms and joints. But his eyes were no longer wild. They were solemn.

The giant wave rumbled toward Itachi where he stood on the roof of a house and Kisame prepared a clawed hand. The water wrecked the building in seconds and Itachi leapt into the air. The razor fingers skimmed his leg and Itachi feared for his tendons. But he was fast enough to push off Kisame's shoulder with his other leg. Though the spikes stabbed through his foot, it was a better result than a mutilated leg.

Itachi landed on another house. The tower of dark water turned as Kisame did and debris swirled in the ever changing shape of it.

The men stared at one another for a moment, their faces level. Kisame's merged form with the Samehada was a last resort. He had used his last card.

Itachi could see the blood easing out of Kisame's side through his dark clothes. The Samehada was worn out.

With one last violent whim, Kisame swerved high in the air and arced down on Itachi like a waterfall. The waves crashed around Itachi, blocking his escape routes. Then Kisame, his arm raised, was ready to strike.

Itachi closed his eyes.

"_Amaterasu_."

Black fire burst from him, into Kisame's face. The water curled around him in a split second and the man fell past Itachi. He plunged into the ground, swallowed in fire. The water dropped, no longer under his control, and Kisame writhed.

Itachi stepped off the roof and walked to the burning man's side. His eyes were blurry. His Mangekyou Sharingan faded, leaving a black iris.

He heard the hissing of the Samehada as it separated with Kisame's body. It was trying to eat the fire as before. But the Amaterasu was poison to it. The flames faded into nothing, leaving a pile of rotting bones and teeth. The remains of the Samehada.

Itachi's lungs clenched. The chakra he had been using to suppress the pain was spent by that last jutsu. All of his power over the disease inside of him vanished. But he would not let Kisame see.

The man turned to lie on his back. He was panting.

Itachi walked away for a moment. He picked up the hilt of his broken katana. The end of the blade was jagged, but it could still be used for one last task.

He approached Kisame again.

The space between them closed. The fight was over. Death remained. But there were no feelings of hate. Only regret. Only pain.

"This is my end?" Kisame whispered slowly. After a moment of silence, he grinned helplessly.

Kisame curled and managed to rise to his knees. He held onto the ground carefully. His side had reopened and his weakened body was barely keeping itself together.

His enemy lifted his hand.

He managed to sustain a smirk. "Do it."

Itachi lowered it again.

Kisame glared wildly.

"Pity is an insulting thing."

Itachi growled. "You didn't take me seriously." He thought of all the things Kisame was capable of. He was better than that. That fight was nothing.

"I felt bad, fighting a sick man." He baited him. "You see where that got me." Kisame touched his side. The skin was peeling over the ruined organs.

Itachi touched the broken sword to Kisame's neck. "Insulting."

"Go on. Slaughter me. Pick up the pace. Kill my pitiful blue ass."

He pressed the metal. Kisame sighed, resigned. He shut his eyes, not out of fear, but understanding.

He heard something clatter on the ground.

Kisame opened his eyes again, refusing to look up.

"It's not pity."

He shook his head, smiling. He couldn't believe it.

"I don't have the time for this." Itachi stepped away. "Or the patience."

Kisame staggered to his feet.

"Alright."

Suddenly there was a new path open. Kisame could see the battle waiting to happen on the ground where he stood. He could see all of the choices in front of him. They had been there from the moment he confronted Itachi.

He knew this was his choice from the beginning. He knew he wouldn't kill Itachi.

"Madara doesn't forgive."

Madara. That was a name he was getting sick of. Rules, rules, rules. Plans, plans, plans. Talk, talk, talk.

"Who said I was going back?" He looked at Itachi from the corner of his eye. "My money's on a better deal."

Itachi couldn't help but glare. "This isn't a game. You can't slip out of this."

"When have I ever ditched on a good fight? I don't need an exit." There wouldn't be an exit. This choice would be his last. "The old man'll be dead soon anyway. Right?"

Itachi lifted a brow and laughed once in his throat. It turned into a half cough.

Kisame continued, "At least, that's the rumor."

They looked at one another. Madara's intentions had been clear to them the moment they were set in motion, though they were from different sides of the battle.

The shinobi clenched his fist. His fingers weren't responding. With his remaining strength, he walked to the rubble he had created and sat.

"I heard something interesting. Or… saw something… A village not far from here got blown to smithereens in the most fantastic way." Kisame grinned. Itachi wasn't the only ghost running around. "Must be some nut."

Itachi joined him on the concrete pile. "Interesting."

"Ah. I missed the one word conversations." Kisame looked at him with a toothy grin. "My previous company just wouldn't shut up."

They sat there together, deep in thought. Two dying men.

"I think I'll stick around. You never know, you might miss me."

Itachi's mouth formed a thin line. "You have a bad habit of talking too much. It'll get you killed."

"I've heard that somewhere before." He received a glare. Kisame patted Itachi's back roughly—too roughly for a man in his condition—and laughed. "Well. Root won't be too hard to handle."

"My brother can take care of them."

"He'll steal all my fun." He pouted. "Him and his squad of kiddies…" Their faces appeared in his thoughts. One in particular drew his attention. Suigetsu. "Hmm…" Only Sasuke had to face Itachi… The others would be in the way.

"I'm sure you'll be entertained."

"Yeah."

Ten years. Over ten years they had sat together in a similar way. They had talked together. They had fought together. This battle didn't even register. They couldn't be enemies. There was too much respect between them for that. They would have never fought, had they been enemies. No shinobi would choose to fight with those odds against them. Not when they could have avoided it. The consequences for such a fight were too great.

It was because they were friends that they fought. They were friends, so the result didn't matter. Reason had nothing to do with it.

Kisame stood. He had one night to stitch himself up pretty for tomorrow. Then it would really be over. "Well, partner…" He looked back at Itachi. "I'll be seeing you."

Itachi remained.

"You'll see me in hell."

Kisame drew back with an unsatisfied expression. "Those are you're last words to me?" he laughed at him openly. "How dull."

He snarled quietly. "Go, before I really kill you."

Kisame grinned and they stared at one another's faces. Seconds trickled by.

Then the man gave a curt chuckle.

"That's better."

* * *

I haven't written in so long. Please forgive me. It's been a long couple of _months _(Wow. I'm such a bad author.) Gasp. It's almost Valentine's Day. I'm so bad. Anyway, how was your Christmas and New Years? I know _I _had a fun time… Hmm. Yes, a good time. Very good. Wow… Yup. Isn't it just adorable that I can write all kinds of fluffy things, but can't take it when it really happens? I'm just such a puddle of mush in reality… I have no confidence. But that's a story for another time/never in my life will I admit to my cowardly state of mind.

Well then. Finally a fight scene! That was interesting. Thank you, Kishimoto for inspiring me. You know I was dying for a good battle. Kisame is hilarious to write. Seriously, he is the only reason (him and Deidara) that I should have kept the M-rating. I love Kisame. He's just funny. He's a dumb ass, but he's a _smart _dumb ass (I had the hardest time typing "smart" just now. I am so smart. I am so smart. S-M-R-T… No jokes.) And I love Itachi in whatever he does.

Enough about me… This story! Right. Let's see… From here on out, there will be a fight scene in ever chapter! Things are finally wrapping up. We're half way through and… Wow… A lot is about to be concluded. _Fight scenes!_ I'm so excited. Let's see if the Naruto manga can give me some good ideas about Madara's fighting style. I need some epic battles to inspire me or I'll be making it all up! _That_ will be _tons_ of fun…

Can I just say, I love Root. (All of the characters in the Root are completely made up by me. I'm sorry; I know many people hate OC's. I hate them too… I don't like it when the villain or the other end of a pairing is an OC. But…) I love manipulating minor characters to prep for bigger moments with the main ones… It's just… lovely. I really like Retsu's character. There are just so many things to play with. (Evil laugh.)

This was a very difficult chapter. Figuring out Sasuke sucks. I have no idea how Kishimoto is going to pull everything together. It's so fucked up!!

Wow. I haven't written this much in a while. I've been very, very busy. Auditioning for colleges and such… (I got accepted into 4 of my 6 for sure. Then as far as my BFA, 2 of 3 that I've auditioned for accepted me. The third basically did. My last three auditions are in the next two weeks! Wish me luck!)

Next Chapter – A Demon's Pain

…

We enjoy warmth because we have been cold.

We appreciate light because we have been in darkness.

By the same token, we can experience joy because we have known sadness.

_David Weatherford_

…

(This is my favorite quote so far. I hope you like the next chapter!)


	11. A Demon's Pain

(Can't believe I've been gone since February… I am so bad!) Sorry I was gone so long! I had to finish of high school with a bang, didn't I? It's been a great four years. I've done a lot of stupid stuff, had a lot of fun… You guys have been here for me too! Thanks for everything so far. Now, let's see if I can finish this story! (I still have a ways to go.)

So, I know I've been talking about how this story is wrapping up, but there is one crucial thing that I'm lacking… A solid ending. I have a lot of options in mind, but I want to see what you guys thing. There is a poll on my profile page about what endings you might like concerning the last epic battle. **This will very, very likely have an effect on the ending of Gouka! **In the recent weeks, I've been thinking more in detail about the future of my fan fiction. Now that the manga seems to be wrapping up, I've decided to try and end Gouka before Naruto does! Just saying, the finale of the story will definitely be affected by the poll.

I'm having an awesome time planning out these upcoming chapters… So many fight scenes!

Here's a little promotion for myself… woot. I made a MMV for Team 7 recently. There's a link on my profile page. If you wanna look into it, I'd be flattered!

Hokay, right quick. I will start with saying how much I love FanFiction… And I'll finish with saying how much I hate the random errors it generates? I'll type a name or a word… and it will randomly capitalize one of the letters within? I was re-reading chapter 6 and Kiba had some moments where the "I" was capitalized. It's frustrating. I find myself distracted by those kind of mistakes and I hate that you guys have to deal with them. I apologize ahead of time and I promise that I do review every draft before posting it. Anyway, rant over.

Enjoy the chapter! Check out my poll! Look at the video? Thanks for your support even in my absence.

* * *

Playlist: Holding On to Nothing (Lovers and Liars), Pressure (Paramore), Even/Odd (Rachel's), and Grace (feat. Hotei) (Apocalyptica).

* * *

We enjoy warmth because we have been cold.

We appreciate light because we have been in darkness.

By the same token, we can experience joy because we have known sadness.

_David Weatherford_

* * *

…

A Demon's Pain

…

* * *

The city was in ruin where he stood. From the protruding sewage system, filth flowed, joined by water fountaining out of pipes. It sounded quietly in the background.

Kakashi's ears buzzed.

He staggered about the rubble, looking at the bodies around him. His comrades. Out of four, he was the only survivor. He held onto his shoulder and dug in his pocket for a soldier pill. It would thicken his blood. It wouldn't heal his wounds, but at least lessen their chilling effect. He shoved a handful in his mouth. His adrenaline was pounding in his ears, he could feel the effects working on his veins in seconds. The constant gush of blood from his arm stopped and he removed his hand.

His senses were on high alert. Though he couldn't see them, they were there. The monsters were all around him. All around him. They had ambushed his men. He was the only one who could see them. And Jiraiya had fought all of them? All six? He couldn't imagine it. His eye had saved him. And his experience. His team hadn't been prepared. They were no match.

His red eye flickered around in the clouds of dust and mounds of rubble. They were waiting to see who would emerge.

Kakashi could see them clearly now.

There were three of them. One with long hair drooping over his shoulders, the other was bald. The black piercings that distinguished all their faces stuck out of his head. They were all waiting calmly on the rocks. One stood above them. His orange hair was bristled and his eyes were dead. The other's flanked casually. He was their commander, it seemed. Kakashi hadn't even seen him fight. And he didn't have to. Two was more than enough for his team.

Kakashi had seen the one on the left fight. Ningendou, he was called. His Taijutsu was at the level of Rock Lee's. But there was one determining difference. He could use jutsu if he chose to. Kakashi watched one of his teammates die at his hands. The mysterious man placed his palm on the shinobi's head and his life seemed to just drain out. Without a sound or motion, the shinobi toppled. Dead.

The man on the right was curious. He was more like a puppet than a human being. His body was composed of secret compartments and traps built to release tools and weapons. His cloak was removed and a long saw like tail weaved in the air, a coiled snake. It was covered in blood from where it had decorated one of Kakashi's teammates with another hole to breathe out of, through the bone and organs without trouble. Out of the multiple weapons in his arsenal, the most unexpected was a beam of chakra that had severed the arm of another comrade. He had survived only to be caught by Ningendou. Without a second's delay, he was killed, his soul ripped from his body.

The one with long hair spoke, "Are there any left?"

The larger one grinned sickeningly. "Just one."

Kakashi prepared himself. He checked his weapons and stuck a chakra pill under his tongue. The accelerant flooded his system with raw energy. It could be damaging if used too often. He could feel its sting and understood that his limits would soon be reached.

Kakashi stepped out of the shadows. The leader's dead eyes watched him with interest.

"Kill him quick. Then find the others. The Jinchuuriki is somewhere in the city."

Kakashi tried not to react visibly.

Naruto. Naruto was in the city.

The third left them to find his own purpose in the horror stricken city.

The other two prepared for battle. The grinning one swung the jagged tail in the air like an excited dog. Ningendou approached.

The shinobi checked the grip in his hand. His shoulder had stopped bleeding. And his chakra was replenishing. He couldn't let them find Naruto. He couldn't let his comrades' deaths be in vain.

The enemy dove at him and Kakashi kept up easily with the Sharingan. His punches didn't land, but neither did Kakashi's.

Within seconds, the other opponent stabbed between them with the giant blade. The Taijutsu master maneuvered around, taking Kakashi by surprise. His first hit landed and Kakashi suddenly realized how dangerous they were.

As his fist struck, Kakashi could feel his chakra—no—his life? He could feel his life pouring out of him.

He shoved the man back with a kick in the gut.

The enemy was shocked.

"Not quite?" The large one laughed. "Guess he's too head-strong for you."

"Keep your focus, Shuradou."

The tail swung at Kakashi and he leapt back.

Kakashi took hold of a metal ball in one of his pockets. The chain attached clattered, link by link. He whipped it around and it wrapped itself around the tail. He pulled and stepped lightly on it, running straight for the weapon's master.

Shuradou tried to twist it like a warped saw blade, but Kakashi laced his feet with chakra and stayed on. He pulled the tail behind him so it curled, keeping it under his power, though it lashed around like a wild animal.

The man's face rotated and a plate of plastic or metal popped off his shoulder. It shot senbon out at him. Kakashi flickered and vanished. The chain dropped. Before it hit the ground, he reappeared with a kunai in hand. He shoved it in the metal tube where the needles flew out. His enemy flinched and he kicked Kakashi forward.

Under his feet was the chain he had dropped. He grabbed it and wrapped it around his palm. Pulling with all his might, the chain encircled the unsuspecting shinobi as he fell away.

Kakashi charged his hand with chakra and an electric current shot through Shuradou with untraceable speed.

He felt to the ground.

In the shadow of his attack, Ningendou struck Kakashi from behind. He leapt away. His body numb where his enemy had touched him.

Kakashi curved when Ningendou phased before him. His punch missed and Kakashi ripped his arm with a speedily drawn kunai. Even in the air between, Kakashi felt his soul quiver with fear. The roots of his life were threatened and he shied away. In doing so, he missed the opportunity to return the favor done to his teammate and remove his enemy's arm.

The moment he faltered, the Taijutsu master kicked his stomach, throwing him into a pile of rubble with a force Kakashi hadn't expected. He hit the rocks and wood and metal hard. Around him the remains of a building collapsed. He was half buried in seconds.

With a raging outcry, he shoved back the debris best he could.

Ningendou stood, unfazed by his bleeding arm. He tilted his head and took a step towards Kakashi.

The shinobi rolled onto his side, shoving the beam that had landed on his legs with his arms. His bones tingled with the strain of weight. They could break at any moment.

He shifted his arm and found the ground. He slammed his palm on the earth and it burst open. Dogs heads made of stone ate away what held him down and lifted him into the air. With his other hand he made a seal. He could feel the water coming from the exposed pipe below him. It's opening was right next to his enemy.

_Daibakufu!_

The water stopped.

Out of curiosity, Ningendou looked at the dark pipe beside him.

There was a subtle rumble. Then, from the depths of the pipe, a solid wall of black water hit him. The tube of water pushed him into the wall fifty feet away and began eroding the rock behind his body. Kakashi watched the rocks fly until there was no more water to control.

A small trickle was all that remained in the pipe.

Kakashi lowered to the ground and the hounds of stone receded.

He walked to the destroyed body to checked and make sure. He leaned over it, placing his fingers to the body's cold skin. Had it even lived in the first place? It was ice cold. An _ancient _corpse.

He touched the black piercing stuck diagonally in his nose. It was hot to his touch. Vibrating, almost, with chakra.

But the body didn't respond. It was over. Kakashi sighed and straightened up. He surveyed the bodies of his friends. He needed to contact Shikamaru. He could tell how low his chakra was. And though his blood had thickened, something in his soul was tired. He could feel his consciousness slipping. Someone would probably have to carry him away on a stretcher.

Just as he reached for his mic, something in his peripheral vision made him freeze.

He turned his head slowly, dreading what he would see.

He looked at the body of his other opponent.

Shuradou's eyes were wide open, watching him. And his grin was as bright as it could be.

* * *

Konan stood above the city, watching the invaders—like ants—scurry below. The weaker ones were dropping off one by one. She knew that in the heat of battle, the truly strong survived. War weeded out the useless and the pitiful, leaving only those worthy to continue.

Life had taught _Nagato_ that.

And _he_ had taught _her _that.

As long as the weaker man died first, the victor was valuable. His existence was meaningful.

Defeat and victory. Death and life.

Those were the things that determined strength and the right to live.

But the more he told her… and the more she saw death… and the more blood she washed from her hands…

The less she believed.

Konan had seen many things. And she would support him no matter what _fate_ threw at them. But she did not believe it. Life wasn't so frail. A human's soul was not a number to be tallied. Not a point on a score against some ultimate adversary.

She cherished every life.

He obsessed over death.

_"It's impossible… Without the other two, you can't do it!"_

_"We are close enough. And we do not have the luxury of waiting for the other two. The time to summon it is now."_

_"You can't control it. You've already used so much chakra… Madara was the only one…"_

_"He has betrayed us! There is nothing else we can do. We can't wait any longer. I will not lose to Uchiha Madara!"_

_"It is imperfect!"_

_"Even if two of them are missing, it will still be unstoppable. None of the nations will be able to escape its power."_

_"…You'll die."_

_"The world will die along with me. And Madara will lose what is most precious to him."_

The world. The world. He wanted to kill it. He wanted to hate it. He wanted to stop the world. He wanted to stop the world from killing him. He wanted to stop the killing. He wanted to stop death.

Beat it at its own game. He had to beat it at its own game.

He had to beat death.

Because he couldn't lose anymore.

Konan stood, looking over the city. Saddened.

Her blank eyed wanted to cry, wanted to release the emotion and turmoil she had absorbed from Nagato. She wanted to cry for him. Cry because he could not. Cry because they had lost everything.

But she could not.

She would not.

She had to beat death. She had to stop death. She had to stop the killing, stop the world from killing him. Stop the world, hate the world, kill the world. For him.

For him.

She had to…

So he could live.

"Konan."

One of Pain's many bodies scaled the wall. He stood on a platform below, waiting for her.

He had returned from the battlefield. Things were going smoothly and she could see it on his face. She could read the dead eyes. The strength of his loathing was blistering. His bitterness and joy mingled like a foul taste on her tongue.

"Are you ready?"

The child in her soul smiled. This wasn't Nagato's voice. It was Yahiko. And she loved it. She loved the voice of her old friend. The past love and life came back to her with every toneless chord and word. But her cold lips did not move. It was too sad. Their hate was too corroding. The paper flower in her hair fluttered as if to wilt.

She nodded and walked to the edge. In the past, he would have smiled widely up at her and held out his arms for her to jump to. But that Yahiko was dead. His body had already turned away and was falling. She joined him in the air.

The paper flaked off of her and formed wings where her arms would be. She glided before striking the ground and they spoke over the wind.

"The Konoha shinobi are holding up not far from here. I have three already in position. I need you to join them. Survey. But when I activate the bijuu, my power will weaken. The connection will be broken temporarily. Do what you have to to ensure they are not destroyed."

Konan didn't answer. She would do what he ordered.

"One is dead already." She looked at him and he obliged her interest, "It was the White Fang's son. He will be dead soon. As will they all."

"You will release the bijuu?" It was a plea hidden in a question.

His strange, ringed eyes looked at her with contempt, "Yes."

She slowed and he continued without her. He was headed for the Suna nin waiting up ahead. Below their feet was the key to Pain's success. They would all be slaughtered and nothing could be done. It didn't matter how weak it would make Pain. It didn't matter that Yahiko… Nagato… It didn't matter that Pain would die.

He would get what he wanted.

And Konan would witness his retribution.

He vanished and she stopped in the air. The Konoha shinobi had their barricade. That was her next target. If they were still alive.

* * *

"Neji, please stay down!"

"This is Hyuuga Neji," His voice resounded in the mic, "We're on the northern side of the village. At the edge of the inner crater… We need reinforcements. There are three Akatsuki here and… I don't think…" He felt a black out coming on and veered back onto the firm ground.

"Neji, please rest. Stop trying to sit up."

"I don't think we can… last." He muttered before his hand, drained of blood and chakra, dropped to his side.

Hinata held him from behind and forced him to settle. Her eyes cracked with the power of the Byakugan. She wouldn't let the enemy get any closer. TenTen was fending them off with the help of Lee, but they couldn't be far from exhaustion. Lee was already injured. The ribs on his right side were broken and his lung was possibly punctured.

The kunoichi kept on high alert for enemy movement. The three attacking had stopped just long enough to retaliate. With accurate information from Hinata, TenTen could coordinate defenses that the Akatsuki wouldn't dream of getting past. Even if they managed to get close, Lee was always ready for a moment to strike. They could hold. But Neji was right. It wouldn't last long. TenTen would run out of weapons, or Lee's inhibited breathing would push him to exhaustion, or Hinata would make a mistake, or the Akatsuki would find an opening. It was only a matter of time.

Hinata sat in the horrific silence, holding her cousin as he writhed in pain. His Byakugan faded away and he held onto his leg with a weakening hand. His body had been shattered by the enemies' attacks. He could barely move without pressuring the fracture in his leg, yet he was still trying.

The static on his radio was suddenly interrupted and Hinata's heart skipped.

"We're on our way, Neji! Hold out for just a bit longer."

Hinata gasped lightly and relief flooded her smile. It was Kiba.

"Gaara," The voice continued. "Send a medic as fast as you can. We have a man down."

She didn't remember Neji reporting to Kiba about his own injuries. Hinata looked at Neji, "Did you tell him?—"

Gaara responded calmly, "What are his injuries?"

"Severe lacerations across the torso, the whole right side. He's barely hanging onto consciousness."

Her moment of happiness was over. That description didn't match Neji at all. There was another of their shinobi injured…

Neji pressed the mic, "Who is it?"

"Shino."

Hinata felt her stomach drop.

Shino had gone after the female Akatsuki hours ago. And they had been so busy at the barricade that they didn't even notice that Shino hadn't contacted them.

"Where is Kiba? I could help—"

"No." Neji stopped her, "We cannot scatter our numbers. The only thing we can do is hold our own and wait for help."

"Kiba, take your injured to Hyuuga Neji's position. I'm sending reinforcements there already."

Then there was suddenly a racket on the line.

"And, Gaara!—"

"—Get off of me, you oaf!"

"—Gaara, Shino says that the Akatsuki are up to something." The obnoxious voice seemed to have completely taken Kiba's mic off. Kiba was protesting in the background. "He saw one run your way. Keep an eye out."

Gaara responded, "I will."

Neji quickly ended the conversation, "Hurry. I don't know how much longer we can hold."

Kiba had taken control of the mic again, "Got it, Neji."

The shinobi relaxed, blown away by relief. He took a moment before lifting the mic once more. "Thank you." It seemed unnecessary, but his gratitude was all he could express.

Hinata smiled at him. He handed her the mic and she removed it from him.

"It's alright, Neji. You can rest now."

He looked at her in a daze. "Yeah." His head fell back slowly and his eyes closed.

* * *

Gaara released his mic and turned to his team, "Let's move."

"But, Gaara-sama," A man much older than him came from behind. "We should hold this position and protect the soldiers here. We won't stand a chance if we're scattered..."

"What are we protecting here?" His clear eyes watched his frightened face. "This position is nowhere near the frontline. The soldiers we need to protect are _there_." His pale finger stretched out to the wall of carnage, the crater and the wave of rubble left behind. Like frozen magma after the eruption has ended. The heat has moved on and left a scar. "What we need to protect is there."

He walked away from the man. With or without them, he would go into the fray. They hesitated for only a second, then cast away their fears. Their legs were shaking, not because of the horrors awaiting them, but because they had stood too still for too long.

They followed quickly on his heels.

"I want the locations of all the Akatsuki. If you can't account for them, find them. Five male and two female." He pointed to his mic and the soldier closest to him got to work. "Three are with Neji. One woman escaped Aburame Shino. Four Akatsuki are unaccounted for. Contact the outside and see if there are any sensory type shinobi able to fight. Set up a perimeter around Hyuuga Neji's team to assist their reinforcements. The key to our victory is communication." He looked at the number of soldiers around him. "Take a team Northwest. Scout from the edges of the city. Then move in. We need to narrow in before the opportunity closes."

The skeptical soldier interrupted, "What opportunity?"

Gaara stopped his urgent walk and turned to face the man fully. "You don't know Uzumaki Naruto, do you…?" He grinned, then announced, "I'll take a team with me to the East end. The rest of you scatter. Teams of 2. If you even suspect that the Akatsuki are near, report it. If confronted, run."

Beside him, a conversation over the radios was finishing up. "West?… Yes… I understand. We'll—… Yes, we're headed there now… yes... Good luck." He looked away from the small map in his hand to Gaara. "It's been confirmed. Two Akatsuki are fighting Northwest. They've formed a sensory group and will meet us on the way."

Gaara nodded and sent them off. He looked at those remaining.

"We haven't received confirmation that another team is coming to assist."

He sighed. "I know that. But someone has to take the first step. If we waste time here, a team in need will die. Let's move out."

They rushed forward. The rim of the crater dipped in only one place. They managed to pass through. Gaara felt a rush of energy. It was rolling in his favor. At least, it was beginning to. He could feel the tide pushing back against the Akatsuki.

What had changed things? Why was it suddenly looking better? His sudden motivation?

He nearly laughed when he let his image of hope appear before him. It was Naruto. The moment his voice came over that radio, he felt ready for the fight. Ready to dive in beside Naruto and the people that were around him, relying on him.

They were running through a strange part of the village. It was a space between the craters and destruction. There was a particular street that seemed untouched completely. The buildings here were the lowest of all. It didn't seem to fit.

"Kazekage, I can sense the Akatsuki now. We need to hurry."

He picked up the pace, but couldn't take his eyes away from the dark street.

"There's one coming! Kazekage-sama!"

He looked up just in time to see a giant centipede uncurling onto them. The shadow swallowed them and flattened the streets in a cloud of dust. The shinobi were swept back in the gust and skidded, lying just beneath the giant body. Before they could react or gather back the air in their lungs, the centipede was rearing back again.

Gaara looked to his left and snapped the cork out of his gourd. His store of sand seemed to explode and dispersed in the air, flowing around him like a mist. A thick line of sand flowed out in the air like a current of water. The stream connected with a mouth full of jagged teeth about to close on the body of a fallen soldier. The sand pushed back the monster with wild eyes. A giant dog.

The centipede gave them no reprieve. It lashed out, from the side, clearing away a few of the shinobi and allowing some dark force to gather in the shadows, surrounding them.

Gaara lifted his arms and the sand coiled around the centipede's head. The pinchers snapped and clicked manically, but Gaara did not let up. Even as its body wriggled and curled, he did not stop. The body was hoisted into the air. Its tail scraped the ground and shinobi leapt away and back to avoid the poisonous barb at the end. Gaara clasped his hands together and the ring of sand acted as a guillotine, decapitating the giant insect. Its body dropped in the middle of their group. The head landed at Gaara's feet. In a loud pop, the body vanished and dust rose around their ears.

Out of the rumble of its collapse, more sounds came. It was almost a call and response.

The dog that Gaara had knocked down lifted its broken head. He stared into its eyes as it dragged its body back into the shadows. Its rabid mouth was open and a thin line of saliva and foam trailed after in a slippery puddle.

As soon as it was out of sight, there was a chilling howl that seemed to echo five… six… seven times.

The sensor shinobi stared at him with despair in his eyes. The Kazekage took in a shocked breath and extended his hands as fast as he could. The whole world slowed down. As his fingers moved, inch by inch, faces and eyes appeared in the shadows. Eight monstrous heads emerged and the pack of dogs descended on the shinobi. At that moment, the dozen or so shinobi watched in a panic. But they couldn't not see the grains gathering in the air around them.

They condensed into spears, thin as a senbon. Like threading silk, the five foot needles slid through four of the dogs and lifted them into the air. Those on the outside didn't know it, but the sand quickly dispersed in their blood.

Gaara's face distorted with disgust and regret as the pulled each and every grain out of their veins.

Gathering on the other side, the mist of sand created a weak wall. The dogs hit it and it bowed in like they were going to break through. Inches from the closest soldier's face, the dog was suddenly stopped.

On the left and right, the eight dogs seemed frozen in the air. Then Gaara clenched his fists pointed in each direction and the blood squirted out of the bodies on the right, spewing like colorful fireworks. The other dogs were flung as if they had bounced, and flew into rubble.

The shinobi let out their gathered breath and their faces, softened by fear, became aware again. Their eyes became determined all in one breath and they charged the fallen animals, possessed by dark and wild eyes. With their survival on the line in a way they had never experienced, the shinobi stepped up and dove into the monsters, ready to kill with no hesitation.

In a fight between men, there was a moment of thought attached to every action. But it seemed that since they arrived at Rain, the whole world was two steps ahead of them. They were still playing by man's rules. While warfare always danced just on the other side of the line that determined humanity… The Akatsuki were already lost to the insanity and violence.

For a moment, just a moment, they had to join them in the darkness. That is, if they didn't everything would be lost.

Gaara could see the change. He released his sand, allowing his men to mingle with the beasts. From the inside of a haphazard formation, Gaara protected them with the bloodied sand. It matted together more with every victim it claimed. The blood turned black and the shadows around them blended in with their hearts.

From above, the small female Akatsuki watched as each summoning was defeated. Hiding below, behind the upturned concrete from a road, Yahiko's body spoke to her.

"Move them. They are too close to the entrance."

Gaara's thoughts seemed to stop. The sand that drifted close to the sky caught those words. It traveled in a strange channel down to him. Something was wrong. He hadn't experienced that kind of connection to the sand since he was possessed by a bijuu.

The Shukaku?

What was the ominous feeling that rattled his bones?

The sand was once again an extension of his body. The grains near the Akatsuki became pellets.

Yahiko's body noticed first.

"Kill him!" He bellowed in the girl's mind.

The hounds that were being pushed back snapped to attention. Their snarls were suddenly directed at Gaara. They leapt over the shinobi, right at Gaara, snapping and gnawing the air.

The pellets drew back from the woman, his eyes were on her alone; but all the while, the back of his head was focused on the mouths about to shred him. His breathing began to heave as his mind split into three places. The pellets condensed to small balls of power, the grains floating around his soldiers slipped into their clothes and started pulling them away from the rampaging animals. Then a stream slid past his face, taking his personal shell of sand away with it, doubling his reservoir.

The dogs descended just as the stream formed a circle around Gaara, and his team was torn away from the battle just as spikes of sand prickled through the space and bore through their bodies. The dogs' eyes widened for the last time and in a chorus of howls, they vanished in smoke.

The woman above ran to the edge of where she stood to witness the end, utterly baffled by the power of one man. Something brushed against her cheek and her eyes focused on a small pebble floating in the air. Her head tilted, as a child, then it was over. The pellets dug through her body, littering her with holes.

There was no blood in her veins to shed. For a moment, she staggered around. Then one last round shot through her skull and neck, severing her spine.

She fell down to where the shinobi were rising again and crumpled in a puddle of red clouds.

Gaara's knees gave and he landed hard on the ground. A drop of blood splattered on the ground and he reached for his nose. His body was shaking.

"Gaara-sama!"

"Are you alright?"

"The enemy's death has been confirmed. Report it to base."

"Yes, sir."

"Get him out of here."

A hand came around his arm to hoist him up. As soon as he was on his feet, Gaara was half dragged away from the battleground.

They were moving further and further from that small, dark street hidden by the sun's negligence.

Gaara coughed and he felt the tang of metal in his teeth.

They were moving further from that dangerous familiarity… Something sinister and compelling.

"Stop." He shoved back his aid.

"We have to move you. There is a more secure location ahead."

"No…" His hand on the chest of the soldier addressing him was weak. It wasn't weak from exhaustion…

It was disbelief.

"Go without me."

"Gaara-sama—"

"Get to Hyuuga Neji and his team. That's an order." He couldn't even focus on their faces. As soon as he had the strength, he turned to look at the narrow path behind them, across from the corpse of the girl. The sand on the ground and in the air was welcomed in to his gourd again and he gripped the plug in his hand. "I have something… I need to see something…"

He plugged the sand in and took a step to pivot back.

"We cannot separate—"

He cut him off with a chilled voice, "I _am _leaving. You _are _going ahead of me. I know what I'm doing. If you can't understand that, I don't know what has kept you alive this long." Their faces slacked, shocked by his aggression, then by the pain of his words. He let out a puff through his nose. "I'm right behind you. If I need assistance, I will call for it." His expression eased and his anger dissipated. They listened to his words with unclouded silence. He was kind now, more so than they had ever seen. "Protect what you can. Get to Neji. I'll see you on the other side when this is all over."

He released them and started running for the small road in the dust.

His team watched him for a while, then one commanded in the distance:

"Hyuuga Neji is North of this position." She pointed them in the right direction.

Another grabbed his mic, "Report, another Akatsuki is dead. Female, orange hair. Three piercings on each cheek, one through the nose, and one in the neck."

Gaara listened to their voices fade.

Soon he was alone in the covered street. It was as if the whole neighborhood had been left in one piece. The houses were perfectly covered by the skeleton of a dead building. All along the street. It was a cavern. And the street seemed to slope down. Less and less of the light behind him reached the steps ahead. His temptation to light a flare to see was suppressed by a gut feeling that it would be a poor decision. He hardly needed to see anyway. Something was pulling him down the road. Like gravity.

He stopped, peering down as far as he could. Then he noticed the roof above everything. Folded overhead was the village. It hung from above like a mirror image. The whole earth had been manipulated by the Akatsuki's power.

His feet were buzzing.

He had passed his target somewhere. Turning, he shut his eyes and focused on what his team could not notice. A man had disappeared. One of the Akatsuki. His chakra was clearly masked. But even the most skilled shinobi could leave a trace.

He took a blind step and could almost feel the waves of something powerful below him. He walked back, tracing his steps one after the other.

He passed house after house, until something struck him. He stopped and silenced his breath. Out of the door of one house, one lonely building, he could hear the screams of something. It was chakra, but it was screaming.

He opened his eyes and looked at the door. It was only slightly ajar. He pushed it open and wandered into the home. There were pictures on the shelves. There was food in the cabinets. A family had lived there. He walked further in, pushing into a room. On the ground was the stale body of a man. His wife was lying in bed. Both had been dead for days... Before the invasion, even.

He respectfully removed himself and tried another door.

Inside was an empty crib.

He was about to shut the door when he noticed the closet door slightly open. He stepped inside and rolled back the door. A large board was against the back wall. A mirror. Gaara peered into the space behind him suspiciously. But all that he saw was the cradle.

He gingerly moved the mirror out and he immediately felt a strong, cold wind.

He had found his lost Akatsuki.

* * *

She could hardly breathe through the tension knotting her neck. Her shoulders gathered in a wrinkle along her collarbone. Neji was out cold and she could feel the waning power of her friends. TenTen had been active non-stop. Hinata could see her blood rushing, thundering at a dangerous rate. Lee was at her side, trying to calm her down and help in any way he could. His tendons were weakening.

Their time was up.

The Akatsuki had mysteriously stopped attacking. It was as if they were letting the survivors stew in their own exhaustion, patiently waiting for the moment of ultimate weakness.

Hinata had to stay sharp for them. That was all she _could_ do.

She stood and walked toward Lee slowly. Inside there was a paranoid voice telling her if she walked too fast, the enemy would spring into action.

Lee glanced at her and immediately she could see the weariness there. His leg was shaking lightly.

"Lee, I'll take over."

He shook his head. "I can still do it."

She lowered her voice, asking firmly. "Please."

Lee looked at TenTen. "Take her place. I can still fight."

Hinata nodded reluctantly.

TenTen was sitting high on a boulder. Her eyes were like a bird of prey, ready to sweep in at the sign of movement. She was fierce. Fired up by the severe situation and crazed by the impulses she was getting. Constantly ready to fight. Constantly ready to defend.

Hinata walked closer and TenTen snapped at her, eyes still on the battleground before her, "I don't need you. I'm fine."

The gentle woman spoke softly. "I know. But you… I can't let you. You're tired. Please stay with Neji. He needs you."

TenTen laughed bitterly, "He's been out for a while now right? If I move from this spot we're all dead."

"That's not true. The third Akatsuki left a while ago. Their interest in us has lessened. They haven't moved—"

"That doesn't matter. You're not strong enough. You aren't as fast as Lee and you aren't as tactical as me. That's what we need now. You've been a great help telling us where the Akatsuki are, but that's all we need. I can handle this."

"TenTen…"

"Shut up." She bit back.

"Please, let me help you. You're…"

"I'm what?"

"You're exhausted. I know that even m-mentally, you—"

She hissed, "_Shut up!_"

Hinata started to climb the rock. TenTen looked down with rage in her eyes and threw a hidden kunai past Hinata's face. A thin line appeared and an innocent streak of blood soon followed.

"TenTen!" Lee whispered, shocked.

"Get away from me."

The woman spoke slowly and tried to be calming. "Your chakra level is reaching a critical low. You're blood pressure has elevated. The constant strain has worn your body out. Even if you are mentally capable… You're killing yourself."

Hinata climbed more and TenTen kicked down the side, catching Hinata's shoulder.

She fell to the ground with a loud thump.

After a moment of startled silence, there was a shuffling in the distance. The sound of wind rushing against fabric.

All of their faces paled and TenTen turned quickly to her traps.

One by one, kunai were catapulted at an invisible enemy. Then the ground gave way, a pit fall. Bomb after bomb, closer and closer.

TenTen stood at the top of her boulder, searching madly for the black coats, the blood red clouds. There was a flicker behind her and from behind a black figure, she screamed.

Hinata launched off the ground, fingers lit up by dangerous blue chakra. She struck the enemy in the side and felt his chakra system in an instant. Shocked, his head turned as if he had collided with a fly. His attention diverted from TenTen long enough for her to plaster explosive tags on his sleeves.

His ringed eyes looked down, curling around the fabric. He took no time jumping away and tearing off the sleeve as it ignited. It exploded in the air behind him and he fell again to where TenTen and Hinata stood.

Hinata grabbed her friend whose eyes were dominated by passionate revenge. She flung TenTen aside, into Lee who was ready to catch.

The Akatsuki landed on the boulder and it shattered with thundering cracks. Hinata charged him while he lifted his hand to attack again.

She struck his flesh again and could clearly see his channels of chakra. Dried streams. Empty pools. A carcass. The chakra that gave him power was like a flood that erased exhaustion, blood, and muscle. It was as if he were pumped up like a balloon. Without the chakra, he wouldn't even move.

Her pale eyes saw exactly where that energy was coming from…

Just as her slim fingers wrapped around a piercing on his exposed arm, a punch connected with her stomach.

The second Akatsuki had joined the fray.

Hinata flew back, skidding roughly on the ground. She rebounded quickly and threw herself ahead as one of them turned their attention to TenTen and Lee.

Her chakra filled fists swelled and her feet glided messily over the ground. His dead hand reached out toward TenTen and Hinata swatted it away with her elbow, opening up space to punch him solidly in the gut.

He was stunned for a second, his chakra thrown out of balance. Hinata, with agile hands and the speed of her clan's famous jutsu, removed countless black piercings and they clattered to the ground like chiming bells. The second Akatsuki ripped the body away before she could finish and landed away from her.

"Jigokudou, stay back." Then something else Hinata clearly wasn't meant to hear: "We can't risk losing you."

Hinata looked back at Lee, making eye contact, then quickly stared down her enemy. "Take TenTen and Neji to a safe place."

"Hinata!" TenTen tried to stand, but her legs refused. "This is too much for you. You're no match!"

The kunoichi didn't glance back. "I know."

Without allowing another word, Hinata sprinted forward into the two Akatsuki.

The larger shinobi stepped forward, blocking Jigokudou. He put out his arms and his dead face focused on her movement.

Hinata smiled. She knew he couldn't handle an attack from the inside. Her Byakugan gave her an edge he couldn't protect himself from. She closed distance and drew back her hand. The chakra spun around her skin, narrowing in on her finger tips.

She stabbed and the large man caught her hand. Her smile brightened for a moment of triumph, then died in an instant.

The shinobi didn't let go. She couldn't see his system. She couldn't even feel her chakra enter him. She struggled to get back, but his grip on her hand didn't lessen. Her eyes dimmed and she was suddenly fighting to keep conscious.

"Hinata!"

She couldn't feel his chakra. She could hardly feel anything at all.

Almost completely numb to it, she was hoisted into the air by her throat. When she heard the voice of her enemy and compelled herself to open her eyes.

"Where is the Kyuubi?"

She clenched her teeth and snarled silently.

"I won't ask again."

She smiled grimly and the Akatsuki tightened his grip. Her vision blurred and she shut her eyes to the lack of air.

She felt something gathering in her stomach, with her chakra. It crawled through her organ walls, a different entity than flesh, but still deeply connected to her.

When it reached her mouth she opened her eyes again and found herself staring into the face of a giant beast surrounded by dark flames. Its mouth was wide and black. Out of it were hands that reached greedily for her. Hinata grabbed the hand of her attacker and kicked desperately.

"_Hinata!_"

She felt the energy in her body force its way through her lips. Like a snake, it slithered toward the outstretched hands. As it moved, more and more of her life seemed sapped from her. She clawed at the tight fingers, but to no avail.

"Hinata!"

A wall from the side knocked her and the Akatsuki hard to the ground. The giant figure vanished before her eyes and the snake recoiled into her body again. Just as her strength returned, she felt herself being ripped from the Akatsuki's clutches.

"Hinata, are you alright?"

She looked up into the face of Kiba.

He wrapped his arms around her and Akamaru carried them to Lee and TenTen. Neji was awake again. His face was filled with relief. Beside her was Shino, lying unconscious.

"Kiba." He clasped hands with his comrade. "Your timing couldn't have been better."

He smirked, then turned back to the Akatsuki. Both were staring down the new addition.

Naruto.

Kiba stood and Lee joined him.

He immediately protested, "Lee—"

"I can hold my own well enough. And three against two is a better fight. Wouldn't you agree?"

"Hardly fair." He patted Akamaru's back roughly. He pulled out a soldier pill from his bag and popped it in Akamaru's mouth. Then one in his own. Kiba laughed. "There won't be enough of them to go around."

They walked calmly to Naruto, flanking him.

The Akatsuki spoke to one another with deliberate slowness.

"Gakidou, we need the Kyuubi alive."

Akamaru growled lightly, looking at Jigokudou standing on the right.

The large Akatsuki cracked his knuckles. "The rest are mine."

Kiba and Akamaru glared at the larger one. With his size, he was the biggest threat. Lee was standing closest to him. His body was tensed. Kiba could barely see it, but Lee was at the end of his rope.

Naruto addressed them, "We're not trying to win. Just as long as we protect everyone else… Gaara has reinforcements on the way."

Kiba and Lee nodded.

Lee's defenses fell a little and Kiba caught a glance of his depleted energy.

Before he could say anything, Gakidou charged forward. Lee quickly defended, knocking him back with a kick to the gut. The large man caught the impact and stood as if nothing had happened. Lee leapt back, watching his opponent carefully. Then he rushed forward, bombarding him with attacks.

Jigokudou wasted no time. He came straight at Naruto, who was forced to fall back. The minute he was between Kiba and Akamaru, they had him covered.

The two whipped around into drills that ripped the air. They collided with the Akatsuki in between.

The shinobi managed to avoid Akamaru, but when Kiba came from slightly behind, he was thrown forward, bent from his back. The body landed near Naruto. He created a clone and they clasped hands, ready to deal the final blow.

In the same instant, Gakidou jumped over Lee, landing on top of Jigokudou**. **He knocked Naruto away with ease and hauled the fallen Akatsuki onto his shoulder. Kiba dove at him again, spiraling almost out of control.

Jigokudou snapped to life and used his ally's shoulder as a stepping stone. He pushed off and flew high into the air. Akamaru swerved after him, catching his cloak. It ripped, but there was no flesh behind it. Akamaru was forced to arch back down.

Lee attacked the remaining Akatsuki. They danced for a few steps. The Akatsuki found an opportunity and grabbed Lee's arm.

Naruto had been closing in, ready with a Rasengan.

Before he could deliver it, Lee was flung into him and he was forced to dispel the attack. They both skidded back, allowing Gakidou the room to target Akamaru who was falling from the air.

He grabbed the animal by the tail and yanked him down. He held the beast around his middle and Akamaru writhed and howled.

Anyone could see the chakra draining out of him, and at that terrifying rate. He tightened his arms and they could hear the shattering of bones.

Naruto dropped Lee and ran back in just as Kiba was revving up for another attack. He spiraled in and Naruto allowed some of the Kyuubi's chakra to consume him. He pumped it into his fists and grabbed the Akatsuki's arm. The skin started to burn the instant he touched it.

He weakened Gakidou's grip enough for Akamaru to move. Naruto unleashed the Kyuubi's flames on the Akatsuki's face when he punched him squarely in the jaw.

Gakidou's body was completely open for Kiba.

"_Gatsuuga!_"

* * *

Kakashi's grinning enemy got up slowly. His body jerked and twitched like a machine about to sputter and die. But in his eyes, Kakashi could see the living threat.

Slithering metal cords lifted into the air. A dozen of them. Parts from his wrecked body…

Kakashi was hardly prepared when they all shot at him, wrapping around him and tangling him within the sickening smell of copper that had more to do with the blood stains on metal than the actual scent.

He was suddenly looking at his own reflection in the giant metal tail. He managed to reach his pack in his tied state and dropped a handful of paper below him. They sizzled and caught fire.

Shurado saw them and hesitated with the tail that was about to decapitate Kakashi.

They exploded and Kakashi was thrown back with the strands of frayed metal all around him. He could feel sharp pains in his leg and stomach. He recognized the cold touch of metal and knew that he was full of shrapnel.

He threw in another soldier pill while still under the cover of the explosion's dust cloud. Then he closed his eyes in concentration. He put his hands together and focused on where his enemy was.

Shuradou searched, knocking away the clouds as he walked.

When it all settled, Kakashi was gone.

He walked carefully forward, trying to feel all around him. One on one was much harder than when there was another set of eyes watching.

From behind, Shuradou felt movement. He turned as quickly as he could. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the flicker of lightening. Shooting out in bolts, the current ran through him in a strange, numbed way.

The metal tail was ahead of him. It ran right through Kakashi and his vision froze.

The numbed, distant feeling grew more defined. He felt like he hadn't moved at all. Like his mind was ahead of the game.

He blinked and the image vanished. He faced nothing. The metal tail hadn't budged and there was no dead body in front of him. He was stopped by confusion, but not for long. As soon as it clicked that the illusion had been dispelled, he heard the chattering of birds again, but was too late to stop Kakashi's attack.

The Chidori went straight for the space between Shuradou's shoulder blades. The shinobi had just enough time to pull out of the way, but the attack managed to break off his giant metal tail.

It clattered to the ground and before the attack could go further, he forced chakra into one of the compartments on his back. Out of it, needles were expelled. Kakashi got away as quickly as he could, deflecting the senbon with a kunai at first. Then he managed a hand sign and a rock wall shot out of the ground, effectively stopping them.

There was a low buzzing, then the sharp screech of chakra, concentrated beyond anything a human was capable of.

A beam of something slid above Kakashi's head. There wasn't a distinct color, but Kakashi's vision was distorted by it, like how heat creates a rippled mirage.

The rock slab behind him moaned. Then the top half slid off in a large, perfectly sliced chunk.

It hid the ground with a resounding thud.

The screeching came back and Kakashi leapt away from as it moved along the ground where he was sitting. From the rocks and rubble launched into the air by that energy, Kakashi held out his hand and grabbed as many as he could hold. They narrowed, coming out of each end of his palm and forming a single spear.

He launched it and took another handful of rock.

While still rolling and flying out of the beam's reach, he distracted his enemy with the rock spears.

Shuradou dodged the first few without losing concentration. But after the rest came, he became frustrated. He knocked paper balls into the air, three of them. Among the thin rocks, they lit and exploded dangerously.

The shockwave scattered the dust around them. The uninterrupted beam came straight for Kakashi. He felt the burning sensation, even though it was inches from him, and dodged desperately. He gripped his arm, trying to displace the fire on his skin.

He reached out his hand and it turned red. The soldier pill was starting to kick in.

"_Suishouha._"

A drop of water materialized in front of his open palm. He watched it and his blood gathered along with all of his chakra into that hand. In seconds, the drop became an orb of water, then a fierce, cycling river.

The beam came near him again and Kakashi caught it in the sudden torrent flowing around him. The chakra boiled the water, but was cast off once the energy started generating more liquid. Kakashi threw his hands into a slew of signs and called out with dark concentration:

"_Suigadan!_"

Water swirled around itself, coiling into a violent spring. A fang of water.

Kakashi swept his opponent from every direction with is attack and the laser was cut off. The water splashed all around, throwing Shuradou from one side of the battlefield to the other. Next Kakashi narrowed the chakra and pressed the water into a thin sheet. The blade of water trapped the Akatsuki, pushing him further away into a corner of rubble.

Shuradou looked at the water with annoyance. His eyes caught Kakashi in the distance. The shinobi was sweating profusely and shaking very slightly. The blood seemed to be drained from his face.

With a triumphant smile on his face, The Akatsuki prepped a rocket on his shoulder.

The water sliced by his face, but he was unfazed. The water was so smooth he could see his own reflection in it.

The rocket launched through the water and the jutsu was dispelled.

For a moment, the Akatsuki almost laughed. The attack had been completely hollow. He was confident that if a sheet of water had tried to cut him, it would have crashed into him as gently as a rain storm.

Kakashi threw up a feeble rock wall, feeling the depletion of chakra stealing away his consciousness.

The rocket tore it apart with ease and the explosive force knocked Kakashi deep into the wall of a collapsed building. The walls, reinforced with a steel skeleton came tumbling down on top of him.

Darkness met him quickly as the last concrete piece blocked out the sun.

* * *

Gaara ran with a killer's silence. The tunnel led him deep under the city. Far above he could watched the chakras of his shinobi. The path curled down and he could sense that the original crater, where his team had been located at Naruto's arrival.

The tunnel leveled out and Gaara slowed. The roof expanded and took him straight into a giant corridor. Like a sinkhole that hadn't been opened yet. It was massive. Almost as big as the city itself. What held it up were columns of rock, centuries old. Whatever the place was, Gaara could feel a deeply set tugging at his soul. The Shukaku's chakra was near… But how could it be?

In his vague memory during death, Gaara remembered one detail:

The Akatsuki standing on the fingertips of some great statue, sucking the life out of him.

Gaara started to move closer when light abruptly flooded the space. Eyes. Large white eyes opened upon him.

Gaara drew back against the walls of the cavern. He recognized the figure behind those eyes at once.

It was the same statue that had drained his body. It was the statue that contained indescribable power. Those seven eyes glistened with the power of ancient beasts.

The bijuu.

At the feet of the giant statue, the one Akatsuki stood.

He touched the base of it and a strange heat started to gather. Gaara could feel a hole in his body, somewhere deep inside, clawing its way to the surface again. A long forgotten absence he had been ignorant of. The heat affected him, though he could see no evidence of it before him.

The statue began to move.

The massive hands turned down and pushed against the ground with monumental sluggishness. They pushed, lifting the mass with a rumbling that shook the ground, the cavern trembled loudly. Rocks, parts of the ceiling, fell as freely as rain. Gaara pushed further into the tunnel he came from, protecting himself from the rubble without drawing attention.

"I will not be controlled by you, Uchiha Madara..."

Gaara stared into the back of his enemy. Madara? Uchiha Madara? What could possibly—…

"_SA-I-NE-N—!_"

His voice boomed like nothing Gaara had ever heard before. There was more than one voice there. Half a dozen voices that meshed together like elements beyond worldly comprehension.

"_NO—!_"

The statue writhed like it was alive, bursting at the seams with power that could not be accounted for.

"_MU-SE-I-GE-N—!_"

But there was something unstable in the air. Gaara could sense it.

"_DE-SU—!_"

The chakra was radiating, knocking Gaara back. The pressure was indescribable. He could feel the panic above him.

"_SOU-JUU!_"

The whole world seemed to stand on edge.

Pain's body wavered. He fell to one knee, still holding on to the living stone for dear life.

The mouth of the monster opened wider and wider. The eyes glowed more intensely and beams of light pierced the walls. The support beams shattered and boulders began tumbling down from above.

Swirling masses of chakra, black chakra, seeped out, corroding the air as it moved. The rocks that passed through it disintegrated and black sand drooled onto the ground. The statue was starting to crack. The bijuu within it could not be contained any longer.

"_JUU-BI!_"

Like a shockwave running through his bones, Gaara knew that the end had come.

The statue crumbled like a porcelain face would. From the shell came a lumbering wrath. A figureless hand touched down where the statue's had been.

From its cage, the ten-tailed beast arose.

* * *

Kakashi lifted his head painfully with his neck and managed to move a few rocks out of the way. From the narrow opening Kakashi found himself staring down the missile pointed at his face.

"You've done well for a human. But you cannot defeat God."

The shinobi closed his eyes.

In that darkness he imagined his old teammates and his teacher. He imagined his father. He imagined all the people that he would never see again.

With a sad smile, he resigned himself to death.

There was a click and he prepared himself. Then a clatter.

Then nothing.

He opened his eyes to the Akatsuki half curled to the ground, panting.

The Rinnegan in his eyes faltered. The black ripples shriveled back into the iris and the Akatsuki collapsed.

Kakashi was amazed.

He struggled once more, attempting to free himself for one last retaliation.

His enemy heard him and fought to rise up again. The Rinnegan was flickering madly.

"One more…" He muttered, "One…"

Kakashi got his arm loose and knocked away the missile. The Akatsuki crumpled again, unable to control his actions.

Helplessness threatened Kakashi's resolve, but he still tried. He looked down, grabbing at whatever he could with his unhindered hand.

Out of the corner of his eye, Kakashi could see the Akatsuki facing him.

There was a click.

"Too late."

Kakashi cringed as his death launched only feet from his face.

He watched with frozen eyes as it came at him, a split second of life left.

The missile slid by his face, the fire at the base catching his skin and hair in a smoldering fizzle.

It exploded behind him and the flash of light illuminated his baffled face.

The Akatsuki was stunned by the attack of an invisible force. His face tangled into anger, but then the depletion of energy shut him down. That missile was his last. All his weight made the landing loud and permanent.

"That was close…" There was an elated sigh of relief.

Kakashi knew that voice; he searched on the ground and saw what had saved him. It was a shadow, long and lean, connected to the fallen Akatsuki.

"Shikamaru…" Kakashi let his head fall back. He let out a small laugh, then took a needed breath.

The man appeared with a grin on his face. "Good to see you in one piece, Kakashi."

Four shinobi landed around the Akatsuki cloak, checking the body for life. In the distance, a handful of shinobi were picking up the dead from the battlefield.

Shikamaru started moving rubble off his comrade. His team helped and soon, they hauled Kakashi out. Shikamaru wrapped Kakashi's arm over his shoulder, "Let's get you out of here."

* * *

Kiba's attack was avoided by a hair's breadth. But if Naruto could feel the strike nipping at his exposed skin, he was sure the Akatsuki could. The black cloak was shredded down the front and cuts, thin and plenty, appeared, bleeding in unison.

Kiba landed gracefully, gathering himself on the ground with tight thighs for another attempt at the enemy. Naruto released only long enough to draw back his hand and start pounding. Distracted by Naruto's direct approach, the Akatsuki wasn't ready when Kiba's snarl revealed his intentions.

Kiba's savage face was not unfamiliar to Hinata. She watched him prepare.

Naruto's flying hands never stopped. Even when the Akatsuki managed to stagger back, threatening Lee who had fallen to the ground, exasperated by his own limitations. Constantly vigilant, constantly protecting Lee, Naruto was not strained at all.

Hinata saw the moment when the Akatsuki, defending himself like a shark in a stream of minnows, collapsed back an inch. She watched the animosity in her friends drag out that moment like a pleasurable intake of breath. Then they snapped to action.

Naruto leapt back and Kiba tore through his enemy, successfully this time.

The body was slaughtered in seconds.

Kiba stood upright again and ran to Akamaru, who had landed with a low yelp. He was already attending his wounds by the time Naruto had Lee's arm over his shoulder. He practically carried him to where Hinata sat.

"Lee, are you in pain?" Hinata touched his leg lightly, the leg Gaara had once crushed.

He waved her off, but was too weak to speak. Naruto let him down easy and knelt there in front of Hinata.

"I'm going to lead them away. Keep them safe."

Hinata grabbed his arm before he could stand and walk away. "Wait. I don't understand."

Naruto removed her hand gently and quickly clarified, "They'll be coming for me."

Neji sat up, helped by TenTen, "You can't go alone. There's backup on the way. Wait with us until they get here."

"We don't have time for that. _You_ don't have time for that. They'll gather. Then there will be too many for anyone—"

Hinata burst out, "What about you?"

He looked at her, confused and shocked.

"What about you? What about—? How will you fight them off? If we can't do it together, how will you do it?"

He reassured her with belittling eyes. Unaware. "I can do it."

He didn't know what had happened. He didn't know what the Akatsuki had done. To. His.

Done. To. Ji—

"No one can! Please, please don't go!"

Neji glared at Hinata with a new fear.

"That's enough, Hinata."

It was never enough.

He stood, trying to see through her uncertainties. He held down his hand, asking her to stay there.

"They'll kill you! Please, stop!"

Neji grabbed her arm with a feeble hand. TenTen tried to help, but she was away from them and their hands were empty.

She rushed to him, falling against his back and cried out with the most desperate love:

"They killed Jiraiya-sama!"

Naruto stopped.

His whole world stopped.

The muscles in his body locked. Then they felt pain. Pain that was no longer physical. He felt a pain that cannot be described, shared, or pitied, or empathized with.

And he fell.

Hinata was knocked by his weight and messily brought him to the floor.

Without restraint, he cried out with a fury and sadness that pierced every nerve humanity possessed.

Soundless and deafening at once.

* * *

Gaara was running, escaping the dust and smoldering chakra exploding from the cavern. He ran under the folded sky and searched for the dying daylight. The sun had cast a strong shadow and the exit seemed so far from him.

The black chakra rode the dust like the tide. Gaara couldn't escape the feeling that it was not just a flow of energy, expelling itself from the cage, but rather a gravitational pull toward him. A planetary drive that surpassed time and separation.

Whatever it was, Gaara couldn't run fast enough away. The outside presented itself and he escaped the darkness.

He was running past when the space around him made him stop.

There was something amiss on the battleground he had shared with his comrades. Something was not right.

He searched the scattered dust as the wind of that power pursuing him scooted it along.

Time, time was not on his side.

But something was wrong.

He scanned with diligence, trying to place his discomfort.

Then something whispered in his mind.

A body?

Where was the body?

His time was up.

The chakra erupted out of the slit in concrete.

He was racing away again, but this time the raw energy was slowed by the architecture of the city.

He found himself standing high, alone, on an undamaged building. The rest of the city was flat and he could see all of it in one glance.

Rising slowly—quickly… The magnitude of its mass made it seem like it was barely moving. But he knew otherwise. The monstrosity reared its head, its eyes closed, fearful of the sun that could blind it. It was a creature of consciousness. Not just an emotion as Gaara had been so accustomed to. This giant, formless thing was aware of itself. An infant. Born from rock and death.

The sun glinted around its edges and the filmy chakra around it seemed to smother its glow. The sun was setting with extreme caution. It couldn't take it's eye off of what had been birthed, but the temptation sleep presented was almost too much.

Gaara pleaded silently that night would not come.

In the dark, no one would survive the beast's blind touch.

Something hit him. Minor compared to the calamity at hand, but still important…

The body.

He remembered now. It was the body of their defeated enemy. The dead.

"Gaara."

Dead one. Was gone.

"Gaara, are you there?"

The body was gone. The one that could summon.

He pressed his thumb to the mic.

"Yes." His voice seemed like it was dragging through mud. "I'm here."

"Naruto defeated the Akatsuki here. But one got away. There were three… but one was already gone. Only two attacked. Then during the fight, the other one escaped."

"Three…" He muttered to himself. "Two are alive…"

"We profiled the three. Two male: Gakidou, Jigokudou, they called themselves. The third was a woman. With orange hair like the others."

"Yes, we have information on those two. The woman… We killed her… but the body is gone."

"The body?"

"Is the body there? Is it there right now?"

"Gaara—that's not why I contacted you. Naruto… knows about Jiraiya. He's lost control of himself. I'm afraid he will endanger my team."

Gaara took a moment, trying to register. Had he said nothing? For some reason he thought it had been common knowledge, though it had only been a few days. It was still fresh and he had already moved those thoughts away. War had knocked away his obligation to Naruto when he first saw him again.

"Give him the mic."

There was no reply. Then there was static and he could hear raised voices. Neji spoke again.

"He won't take it."

Gaara spoke anyway. "Naruto. I should have said something. I—"

The monster came back into his awareness. The gravity of the situation was suddenly gaining strength. He remembered his responsibilities. He remembered that what lumbered there, still sleeping, was real.

"It was carelessness, unintentional carelessness. But, Naruto, I cannot allow you to linger with Neji's team. I would ask you to return to the base, but that is impossible now. Everyone there is probably dead. I… I don't know how to speak to you, Naruto. But I can't let you stop. Whatever emotions you are feeling… you have every right to them. There is nothing I can say. I can only ask that you will protect the living. You have to."

He could hear Neji franticly turning up the volume.

"Naruto… I don't know if you can hear me… But this battle is bigger than you and me. I want you to look up. To the South part of the city. What's there is something the Akatsuki released. I don't know what it is, but I have a feeling… And I know that what is there will kill me. If I go and fight there, it will kill me." For a moment, Gaara let go of the mic. There was silence on the other line. He controlled himself and spoke again, "This is bigger than us. It always has been."

He could feel his words coming out like subconscious dialogue. His throat clenched, feeling the doubts rising up.

"If you feel obligated to take revenge on the Akatsuki… I will not stop you. But I want you to remember what you've shown the people of Konoha. And me. Everyone you've touched… They will follow you. If you choose to get revenge, so will the people. If you are incapacitated by grief… We will give up and the warring will never end. I know the weight of what I'm asking you, but forgive me. This world is bigger than its individuals… but you, Naruto, have us all behind you. You've shown us what it means to believe in our own power." He smiled and his tone lightened, "We're not very good at it yet. I'm not very good… but with you in our minds, we will neverstop trying."

He put the mic down at his side.

He looked at the mass of chakra in the distance; it seemed to be standing at his height. He could have reached out and touched it.

He recognized many things in its sleeping face. Fear of abandonment, loneliness, shame… Hate. Pain. So much pain.

A child born from hate and need.

Just like him.

His father sealed away the Shukaku in him so that one day he could be killed. He was born to fight for the nation as a super weapon, then be killed when no longer useful.

Gaara knew what his decided fate was from the moment he fully understood what was inside of him. Just as the beast knew what it had to do.

Gaara walked forward, to the edge of the building. He stepped off, skidding down and using his landing to leap through the rubble.

"Gaara."

A gentle voice over the line.

Gaara didn't respond.

"Gaara, thank you."

He sighed and allowed a small smile.

Naruto was back.

* * *

Shikamaru took his hand away from the mic in his ear. He had listened in. Kakashi, still against his shoulder, looked away. They had never felt those kinds of emotions from Gaara.

Then they lifted their heads to the South as he asked. There was what he faced? The shadow that blotted out the sun? Kakashi moved his leg, instinctively wanting to run but also wanting to lunge forward. Shikamaru moved him slightly, causing him enough pain to remember his position.

"At the city walls there are stations where you'll be safe. They'll treat your wounds. But bandages here can only go so far." He gave Kakashi a warning look. Lazy still, and requesting for his own convenience, "Please just save me the trouble of hunting you down and stay there. If you run off, I won't come save you again."

Kakashi didn't like being saved once. Especially being saved by a former student. He didn't want there to be a second time. His shinobi pride might not handle it well.

Shikamaru snickered at Kakashi's expression and glanced back at his fellows following.

Behind them in the distance, he saw a flash and smoke rise. A white cloud. That sound he had heard before.

All heads turned to the noise.

Shikamaru motioned to the others and they approached where Kakashi had been trapped.

The body they had seen not seconds ago had vanished.

"Shikamaru…"

He didn't answer.

"Shikamaru." Kakashi gripped his muscles, clenching the shinobi's shoulders in his arm. "Shikamaru!"

"I know! I know!" He practically threw Kakashi down and ran to where the body had been.

He placed his hand near the ground and started muttering to himself, "It was dead… wasn't a clone. Dead before it could replace… do a replacement jutsu. We killed it." He moved his hand over the spot, "Killed it." He could feel the remains of chakra tingling his fingertips only slightly.

Kakashi watched the cogs and wheels churning like a well-oiled machine.

"A summoning jutsu. It had to have been."

"A reversed summoning?" Kakashi muttered to himself. He resisted an ironic laugh. "What good could that do?"

Shikamaru was not pleased. "The Akatsuki don't waste moves. Whatever they've done, they've done it for a reason. Whatever their reasons, it can't be '_good_' for us."

He helped Kakashi stand again and started trudging, less gently than before, to the nearest city gate.

"We will get you secure, Kakashi. Inform the Kazekage of what's happened here." His mind didn't stop as the action went on around him and he was consumed by his thoughts.

* * *

Hinata watched Naruto as he released Neji's mic.

There was a small smile there. Gaara's words had sunken in.

"I'm going after the Akatsuki…"

Kiba appeared with a freshly healed Akamaru at his side. He still moved with discomfort. His wounds were very close to the surface. "We're coming with."

Naruto grabbed his friend's shoulder, "Are you ready to fight?"

Kiba licked his lips, the sweat that had gathered on his face shifted. But he was ready. Even though he was trembling, he was ready for round two.

They searched across the cleared battlefield for a lead. There was a change in their faces when they found it. Kiba's nose caught the light smell of the one that escaped.

"I'm going too."

All heads turned to Hinata. Her face was set with determination.

Kiba went to her and took her aside. "I know what you're doing… But this is as far as your go. There's nothing you can do against them."

"I can help you. The two of you shouldn't go alone. And Akamaru is still injured…"

Kiba shook his head.

"Please, Kiba!" She asked in a soft voice. "Please, let me go with you."

"I can't."

The eavesdropping shinobi were caught by surprise when a loud pop resounded.

They all looked back for the source. There was white smoke rising from the place the defeated Akatsuki had been.

"Where did he go?" Naruto ran to the place, scuffing his foot on the ground under the cloud.

Kiba joined him, sniffing. "I can't smell him. He's gone."

Naruto glared. "What do you mean, you can't smell him?"

"Don't get snappy with me. They were hard enough to track anyway. Their scent was more like that of a year old corpse."

"You can still track something after it's dead."

"You wanna know what death smells like when it's that old? Dirt."

Naruto was about to round on Kiba when Hinata interrupted.

"I can see him."

She had their attention again.

Neji moved, hope and smugness in his smirk. The Byakugan could follow the chakra trail easily enough.

Kiba smiled with excited franticness. "Where?" He turned away from Naruto to see her eyes wrinkled with the power of her blood line. "Where is he?"

She opened her mouth to speak, "Ah…" Then she closed it again. "I-I won't tell you."

Naruto barreled past Kiba and stopped inches from Hinata. His fierce chakra was brimming behind his clenched teeth. A seething breath escaped and his voice, enraged by the death of his teacher and by her ignorant stubbornness, was cold.

"_What did you say_?"

She stood her ground. "I won't tell you."

"This isn't time for games, Hinata!" Neji spoke before Naruto could become violent.

Kiba pointed at Neji, "Can't you see him? Use your Byakugan."

TenTen hissed back, "He can't. He can't even stand!"

Naruto roared over his shoulder, "_Do it anyway_!"

Hinata reached for his jacket and took it with a reticent hand. "I'll take you there myself."

Naruto controlled his anger enough to stare into her pale eyes. His mouth pressed into a fine line. He didn't like blackmail like this. He took her hand off his shirt and gripped it, almost to the point of pain.

"Lead the way." His eyes warned her of the danger ahead. He searched for a sign of deliberation to feed off of, but there was none.

She squeezed back, then wriggled her hand away.

She ran, knowing they were close behind.

Her stomach sloshed fearfully. But as long as she was still breathing, she would protect Naruto in any way possible.

* * *

There you have it, guys! Part one of three of the war in Rain. (A Demon's Pain, The World's Doubt, and...!)

Thanks for reading! I hope to hear from you soon.

Next Chapter – The World's Doubt

…

I'm not so much afraid of death as I am of not having lived fully.

_David L. Weatherford_

…


	12. The World's Doubt

Here's the second part! I hope you like it.

If you haven't checked the poll, please do it! I want to know what you think would be the best ending. It's on my profile.

* * *

Playlist: Scars (Basement Jaxx), Ain't No Rest for the Wicked (Cage the Elephant), Follow Me (Breaking Benjamin), Headfirst for Halos (My Chemical Romance), and Oblivion (30 Seconds to Mars).

* * *

I'm not so much afraid of death as I am of not having lived fully.

_David L. Weatherford_

* * *

…

The World's Doubt

…

* * *

Konan stood over the body of a young woman, the summoning Pain. She tried not to stare into the holes going right through that sleeping expression. Beside her, Jigokudou was gathering chakra from Nagato.

Reviving Jigokudou was taking longer than usual. She could only imagine what Nagato was doing to expend so much chakra that he couldn't even spare some for the failing body. She looked at the Chikushoudou with frustration. The sooner it was alive again, the sooner Nagato could be protected, the sooner the battle would be over and the war would be won. Then they would be safe again.

"I'm starting." The Jigokudou placed his hands in a seal and took in a deep breath. Hell's mouth opened and the rolling eyes of Enma rose from the ground through purple flames.

He looked expectantly at Konan and she moved to Chikushoudou and gently picked her up, ignoring the faint smell of corpse. She approached Enma and threw the body into the darkness. The teeth clenched down on the trail of red clouds and the Jigokudou signed for her to step back. She complied and watched as those eyes, maddened versions of Nagato's.

In seconds, the mouth opened again and out stepped the Chikushoudou. She immediately walked away to a clearer space. A scroll hit the ground and spread; before her cloak could lower, she was muttering. The black scribbles formed shapes and spread like spilled ink.

Chakra gathered in her hands and the woman slammed down on the center.

Konan could almost hear the sounds of the reverse summoning. The gentle gust, the sound of their disappearances. Three bodies appeared before them. All mangled and wrecked by battle. One by one, she carried them to Enma, giving them up to sate its hunger.

Konan began walking away when Chikushoudou stopped her. The gentle voice did not match the cold words.

"Stay and guard Jigokudou."

"I should be with you. There are shinobi everywhere. They might find you."

The small woman stepped in Konan's way. "I have no need for you there."

She took a moment and shut off her thoughts. Orders. She nodded.

The five Paths of Pain stood together, a wall of black cloaks. Konan was across from them. The Chikushoudou spoke again:

"Uzumaki Naruto is close. We will draw him out. You and Jigokudou will stay out of the battle."

They knew her answer in her silence.

"What about the Juubi?"

Shuradou cracked a grin, "Chikushoudou will go to assist."

Konan stewed in her agitation. It was sloppy. Nagato was weak and his actions were too drastic. It was bound to collapse on him. He needed her by his side to protect. Controlling all six Paths of Pain and the Juubi… Nagato wouldn't be prepared for an attack.

But she wouldn't disobey. Not yet, at least.

* * *

The Kazekage was getting closer and closer to the demon. He curved around near the walls of the city, avoiding its massive presence. The rubble was knocked back by the energy and the ground at the monster's feet was red, molten. Gaara watched the monster uncurl slowly. He could feel the power, dense in the air. He watched the skies. Chakra was rolling off the monster. Black crows swirled just outside of that danger.

What were those doing? All other animals had left.

"Gaara-sama?"

He looked for the voice and was met by a familiar face peering out of a small opening in the ground.

Matsuri, holding another shinobi from their village, smiled hopefully at him. "Gaara-sama! We thought… you were gone."

He rushed to her side to find the hole filled with people.

"What is this?"

"There is an underground water system. We avoided the shockwave here. We've been using the tunnels for navigating around the city undetected."

"I see."

Gaara lowered himself through the opening and looked down the spacious paths.

"How many survived?"

Matsuri's face fell. "Not many. I'm searching for survivors with my team. There's another group down that tunnel," She gestured with her head. "That… thing… There are teams keeping it away from the gate where the wounded are. But you can't fight it. When you are touched…"

Gaara knew all too well what a demon's chakra could do. Anyone touched by a chakra that massive would be burned—disintegrated—in an instant.

"I'll go there now. Take the people you have now to the medical base."

Her skin paled, "There may be others!"

Gaara knelt beside her, "This is not something you can survive by staying here. You have to get out while you can. Do you understand? Take the people you have. The others are beyond your help. You have to run."

"What about you?"

"If there is anyone left, I am going to find them."

"Then I should stay—"

He touched her shoulder. "Protect _them_, Matsuri. They need you."

She clenched her teeth and stood with Gaara's hand still on her. "Gaara-sama..."

"It's going to be alright." He looked at the people around him. Two or three dozen hiding in the shadows. His people and Konoha's people. All human. All suffering. "Go."

Matsuri moved away from his reach—hesitantly, she paused—and walked away. She instructed the people around her and they followed.

Gaara was alone in the tunnel. His only company was the evening sun filtering in.

Down the tunnel there was no light.

He ran in the dark, hands out to brush the walls, waiting for illumination.

There was a muffled explosion from outside that rocked the tunnel. Gaara caught himself, unable to see the ground. The earth settled and dust fell through the cracks.

He didn't hear it fall, he didn't see it… he _felt_ it.

And it stopped just before touching his skin.

Dust. Sand.

Gaara lifted a finger and the sand spun around it, coating his flesh automatically.

He pulled away and crashed against the wall of cement. He grabbed his hand, trying to rub away the sand. He felt a strange power pulling him forward, filling the hollows of his bones. Chakra—sinister and familiar. The sand in his gourd swam in the creases and curves, begging to be released. Gaara staggered forward, listening to the sounds of dirt and dust move.

He started running, ignoring his clumsy steps and the growing buzz of sediment grinding against itself behind him. Sand. Creating more and more sand.

Gaara cried out, swarmed with fear and anxiety and memories of the past, of the pain, and of the irresistible power that he once possessed.

The Shukaku.

It was as if the monster had returned to him.

Gaara felt the gourd on his back break at the brim and the sand poured out in a stream.

The light was there before him.

He stopped in the dark with his goal in front of him.

The sand caught up and clung to him, eating and giving chakra. The gourd was filled again with thick sloshing weight that seemed to manage itself. Gaara focused for a moment, pushing aside his fear.

The Shukaku hadn't come back. There was no controlling voice, there was no raw energy within him. It was all Gaara. It was just him inside.

The sand settled.

What was this feeling?

Emptiness? Responsibility? Knowing?

What needed to be filled? What was required of him? What was he steadily preparing himself for?

From the light there was a scream.

His thoughts came back and he was aware of himself.

The sand was as it had been, within the gourd. The shell around his body was in place, but no one could ever tell. On the outside, he was the same. He could hardly feel it. It was so light. Not heavy with the Shukaku's dark chakra.

It was _his_ power.

He didn't understand, but something was calling him into the light. Not just the people in need, but that monster. The infant. Innocent pain. Blindness.

Gaara took the last steps out of the tunnel.

The monster was where he knew it would be. The crows were swarming in a more artistic, organized way. They seemed to hover at the edge of the dangerous rippling around the main body. The air that was toxic.

Gaara moved to a higher position, hoping to see where the others that Matsuri spoke of could be.

He saw movement below and trailed after.

"Kazekage-sama!" A handful of shinobi quickly merged with his movement.

"What is the situation."

"Is unable to move as of right now. But it is gradually gaining form. It won't be long before it can stand."

"What are the crows?" The troupe landed in a clearing where many soldiers were circulating.

"That would be me." A Konoha shinobi approached. "I am Yamashiro Aoba."

"Can you see the chakra there?"

Aoba looked confused—as did the other shinobi surrounding them; but he answered seriously. "No, but the crows die when they get too close."

Gaara nodded, "Yes, the chakra off that creature will kill anything it touches. Make sure those crows stay in place. If the soldiers are unable to detect it, then that makes your concentration that much more important. How far can you stay away and still maintain control?"

Aoba gave the hint of a smug smirk, "Far."

"Then get there. Long range fighters should stay, but mid and close range will be useless against it."

"What are we going to do, Gaara-sama?"

Gaara looked around him, at the people depending on him. "I don't know."

The sound of explosions gathered their attention. Part of the flock of crows were released from the jutsu and vanished. A branch of black chakra reached out and threatened to drop onto their location.

The sand in his gourd riled up, but became unnecessary when a strong gust of wind knocked the monster's extension back.

Gaara looked behind him and there, gliding across wind currents, was a large fan.

"Temari." Gaara said it loud enough for her to hear. She looked down and, when she saw his face, she smiled.

She descended as if falling, but landed gracefully before him.

"Gaara! You're alright."

She grabbed his forearm lovingly and he almost flinched. Could she possibly feel the sand covering his skin?

"What's happening? Are you okay?"

Gaara controlled his expression. She hadn't noticed anything strange. "I was there when this thing was released. The Akatsuki are controlling it. They called it the 'Juubi.' The statue it came out of was the same one they used to take the demon out of me."

Temari took in a sharp breath and looked at Gaara with a terrified inquiry. "…Gaara."

"It's going to wake up soon. We have to be ready."

"What can we do?"

That question hit him a second time. What was he going to do? What _could_ he do? The monster was greater than anything they could imagine. If it was what he believed it to be… Ten Tails. Greater than all the bijuu. And Gaara was connected to it somehow. He could feel it. He could feel its potential rising just beneath the surface.

"Before anything else, we need to keep it away from the wounded. We need to find any survivors and get them out of here. And… we need to hold on. The Akatsuki are causing this. When they fall, so will the Juubi."

There was a rumbling. The sound of the earth moving against itself: the utterance of the waking monster. All heads turned to it in a snap, then slowly looked at Gaara for guidance.

Temari pulled Gaara aside, keeping their voices away from the worried expressions of those nearby. "What _about_ the Akatsuki? How do you know they'll fall?"

"Naruto is going after them."

Temari almost questioned Gaara's faith in him, but received a reproaching glance. She looked away, to the monster. Towering like a mountain over them. She met him with bleakness in her. In a quiet voice, she asked, "How do you know we'll be enough?"

Gaara didn't shy from her doubt. "I don't know." He gave a small smile. "But something is going to change. I can feel it. I have hope… We will live." He removed himself so all could hear him. "Long range fighters stay, sensory types. Everyone else should clear out."

Aoba witnessed the people leaving and approached the Kazekage. "There aren't many of us. I don't know what good we can do."

Gaara took a breath and allowed the sand to flow out of the gourd. More and more poured into a puddle, a sea around his feet. It lifted him high off the ground.

Temari watched him, dumbfounded… terrified. "Gaara…" She hadn't seen him use the sand so freely since—

"There is plenty we can do." He felt his body, the energy in the sand. It was overwhelming, but still in his power. All within his grasp.

His sister opened her fan and flew beside him, leaving Aoba far below.

The thick trunk of living ground came off and gathered under him, carrying him. The power was near intoxicating. But it was far from governing. Gaara felt very conscious, very aware.

"Gaara… I don't understand what's going on…"

He shook his head. "I don't know either… But…" He took another deep breath and the whole earth responded to him. Dust and sand and rubble ground against another, bending more and more sand. The trickles came from all around the city, gathering and condensing under his hands. "But I feel... I am not going to die here."

He opened his eyes and they glowed with overflowing chakra.

The sand vanished for a moment. The powder condensed around him, almost absorbed by a vacuum of space around Gaara. The sky's setting colors melded with his blue eyes, creating a clash of light that drew the shinobi like moth to the flame. They all watched in befuddled awe.

He looked upon the Juubi with anticipation.

Its giant black head swerved with more precision. It was seeing the world around it. It lifted the deformed face and its eye was wide open, a pool of indescribable madness and anguish.

"Temari… Get back." Gaara lifted his arms as she fell behind him.

The monster searched for a moment, unsure of its surroundings. Once it saw Gaara, something changed. It clenched its body, a mouth sagged down its face, and it roared. The sounds and spirits of screaming, dying; a malicious reckoning. The color of its body shifted. No longer a formless, dormant black—A living and breathing mass of chakra.

It stretched and rose, blocking out the sun entirely.

Gaara, in its shadow, noticed something strange in the sky. The moon, that should still be sleeping, was there. As clear as the sun itself.

There was suddenly noise from the crows.

He heard Temari cry his name and he saw movement.

At the base of the Juubi was the summoning Pain.

Before he could react, a giant bird was upon him. The purple iris was the last thing he saw before the beak snatched him from the air.

The body curved, heading straight for the ground.

Temari watched as they crash landed at Pain's feet. The summoning had let go at the last second and rose out of the cloud of dust.

"Gaara!"

The Chikushoudou stretched out her small hands and the hounds descended upon his body.

The snarling and sounds of ripping were cut short by sharp cry, then a wimper.

Piercing her ears, Temari heard the Gaara's voice.

"_Sabaku Uchuu._"

Sand exploded from below and encased the summonings. Then the orb broke apart into needles and sucked back in, piercing the bodies and releasing the summoning jutsu once more.

The rain of sand shot after the bird and it danced away.

Temari bit her thumb, rubbing a line on her fan. "_Kamatari!_"

She flung the fan at the bird and a scythe glinted under the wind. The snarling animal hidden in the wind struck the bird and latched on. It slowed the animal just enough for the sand to catch up.

But just before the bird was skewered, the sand dropped.

Temari looked down and saw Gaara being tackled by a giant Rhinoceros.

He was knocked away like a rag doll.

The rhino scuffed its foot on the rubble, preparing to charge again.

Gaara was still standing, but slumped. He lifted his heavy head. His eyes were brighter than before. He was utterly filled with chakra. The sand on his body hadn't shifted in the slightest to those attacks. He didn't feel a thing.

The rhino charged and rammed into Gaara's hand. The monster was stopped in its tracks.

Gaara lifted it off the ground with one hand and threw it into the black body of the Juubi.

The animal cried out and sizzled, slowly burning away. Its bones and skin sent a strong smell into the air. The body's remains burst into flames and Gaara slowly walked away.

The Juubi watched him, compelled to touch the former container.

As he moved away, he noticed faces in the shade of the beast.

Survivors. This close. There were survivors this close.

Gaara snapped back to reality and the intoxicated feeling left him.

He dove for their safe spot to clear them out from the Juubi's reach, but the beast was coming too quickly. The sand responded faster than Gaara. It defended him from behind. The sand held for only a few seconds before the surface in immediate contact with the raw chakra crumbled.

Gaara stretched out an arm toward the group of people huddled there and just as a hand came close, the sand carried him away, out of harms reach.

He cried out, desperate to return. He moved his head back to catch what was happening when a figure landed where he had been. Just before the Juubi put down its limb onto that very spot, the figure vanished.

On each arm, and there were numerous, was a person. A cavity in the chest was open and there were two more inside.

Gaara smirked in recognition.

Kuroari. One of his brother's puppets.

He looked back and there beside who he knew to be Aoba was Kankurou. His hands were active, the faint trace of chakra coming from his fingertips.

The bird trailed after the puppet and Gaara lifted his hand to help when he heard another voice call out:

"_Kage no Yose no Jutsu!_"

Black strings came out of nowhere, attaching themselves to the wings, bringing in hundreds of explosive tags. Temari's summoning fled and the bird was blown away. The shadows retracted and Gaara found the face almost identical to Konoha's young tactical mind, Nara Shikamaru. It was his father.

Reinforcements had come at last.

Gaara looked upon the monster they faced and the summonings swarming at its feet. As it grew stronger, their time grew shorter. But maybe, just maybe…

Gaara didn't know what he believed in. Naruto? Or himself? But whatever it was, he knew that the hollowness inside was slowly preparing to fill again. And his strength would carry the people who looked to him out of this hellish war.

Gaara landed with the sand's aid and Kankurou was already moving to him.

"_GET BACK!_" His voice echoed and crackled as if something had spoken for him.

The shinobi below froze. Shaking.

Beside the monster, Chikushoudou was running as fast as her legs could carry her. Her speck traveled within his gaze but, sadly, out of range.

Again to those who could still hear, he gave a final warning, "_Get back…._"

He locked away sight and allowed the power to course through him.

His mouth opened and a familiar voice escaped his tongue.

* * *

Konan stood beside her responsibility with anxious hands. She flicked paper between her fingers, it unfolded and curled around her, twisted and random. The group of Pain, all controlled by Nagato, were skewed slightly. They weren't all there. In some instances they were completely inanimate. They twitched and jerked in their stillness like sleeping animals.

She clenched the page in her hands and released, crumpled. It slowly restored itself as some figure approached.

Tendou, the leader—Yahiko—had returned.

The Pains around Konan didn't respond, let alone move.

Konan couldn't take it anymore.

"What's happening, Pain? Why aren't they moving?"

Tendou ignored her for a moment, as if registering her words one by one.

"Answer me!"

His voice was sluggish. "The Juubi is almost complete."

Konan roared before all his words could be heard. "You know it won't work! Without the Sharingan, it is useless. Madara is the key!"

Yahiko came at her, bellowing back. All of the mouths around him opened and their voices meshed into fury and blinding pride, "_Madara is nothing!_ I hold the power. The power to save this world! Look at the moon! _Look at it!_"

She did.

It was red.

"Do you see? It's happening. The Juubi is under my control, do you see? Look at the demon! It holds the power of the bijuu. It has almost gained its shape. Then it will be indestructible. And the Kyuubi will follow suit. The Juubi's presence will pull it in. Then the Hachibi. Everything is in my hands. It is all in my hands, do you see?"

Konan stared into the face of the moon. The shadows around the edge reached out at her. The raw power that touched her made her shiver. But she was terrified. This power was not on her side. It was on no one's side. It was self-serving. It was an entity that knew nothing of the pressures or the control of others. It was pure. Its intent was no to kill, but that was exactly what it would do. Guiltless, without limits. It would destroy everything because that was what it was capable of doing. Without consciousness, it was free of every weight of the world.

"The ten tails will form. All the chakra masses nearest to it will be absorbed. It will seek out the Kyuubi because it is of its kind. Once it merges with the Juubi, it will require a vessel. The Rinnegan can control it. The Seven Paths of Pain were created from the Juubi. They will be reunited again within me. With the Juubi inside of me, I will cleanse this world. I will create eternal peace."

"Nagato… You can't do this."

"It is beyond you." Tendou looked at her with an unfeeling glare. "You can only witness the peace I will bring about. Even if you've lost faith in me, this future will come to pass."

Konan pushed her fist into her leg, unable to put anything into words.

Their attention was simultaneously drawn to four chakra signatures approaching.

"Do you see, Konan?" Tendou stepped past her. "I control this universe. And it has given me the Kyuubi—"

Konan gasped when all of the Pains faltered. Their bodies dropped down to the ground in an instant and fought gravity with all their might.

She ran to Tendou, who knocked her aside.

"Get away from me! This is… expected. The Juubi is…"

"Nagato! Nagato, please. Please, stop!" She held onto Yahiko's body, desperate for some touch or feeling to reach him. "It's killing you…" She held him tighter. "It's…. killing you." She sunk her face into the orange hair, dead hair. A dead body. This was her reality. Yahiko was dead. And the ghosts of her past, the ghosts she thought she held onto so fervently, had left long ago. All she wanted was the man behind the puppets. All she wanted was for them to be free of whatever insanity they had pulled from their world.

"He's coming. The Kyuubi."

"ENOUGH!" Konan flung herself away from them and started running. "Nagato…!"

The Pains all gathered their composure and stood. Something clicked in all of them. The demon was awake. It was propelling itself now. All of their energy and hate could fall upon the Kyuubi:

The key to the destruction of the world.

* * *

"_KOU-I-N_—" The voice cackled like a raging beast. It screeched in Gaara's lungs. His brow puckere d in concentration. "_NO_—" There was a moment, a very brief moment when he felt connected to the Shukaku. Those eyes were in the back of his mind. "_SU-NA—!_"

The earth erupted in sand. Everything went dark.

All around the Juubi, all the way to the wall of the city where those wounded lie, a cloud of sand rose. And in every grain, there was Gaara.

All rose above, and the glint of the setting sun blinded them. The monster whirled around in the buzzing grains. Those below were scattering. The grains that touched them made him smile. They were far enough away.

There was no reason to hold back.

The sand wrapped around the two: the demon and Gaara—being held in the air by the thin layer of shell around him.

Gaara closed his eyes and his fists.

As his fingers curled in, so did reality.

The sand nearly sucked Gaara into the monster, but he stayed there, clinging to stillness. The screams of the demon were almost lost on him. There was something rising in his throat. Like bile.

It was joy.

Gaara opened his eyes and the four pointed star formed there. Those four beads of black spun and solidified in his empty iris.

He let his head fall back and a laugh erupted, consuming and revolting.

It rang in Gaara's ears, but he didn't hear it.

The demon had fallen back. It was vibrating, the form was faltering.

_Kill it._

Gaara's arms lifted like drawn strings. They snapped and all of the sand, clouding the sky again with its mass, came down on the monster.

A fly under the hand of God.

* * *

Kiba and Hinata could barely keep up with Naruto. Akamaru and the blond shinobi ran side by side. Birds of a feather. Animals in their own way. Naruto seemed to be losing more and more of his humanity as he ran. Chakra was crawling on his skin.

Kiba looked between the two with him. Hinata staring after Naruto, and Naruto screaming from the inside with all his might at what lied ahead.

Hinata changed direction suddenly and Naruto and Akamaru snapped their heads in her direction. They followed after her, only to pass her in their enthusiasm. Kiba tried not to roll his eyes. He didn't know whether to be completely frustrated with Naruto's behavior, or to laugh at the ridiculousness of it.

Akamaru sniffed and made a small sound. Kiba quickly followed suit. There was the faint hint of death ahead of them.

"Naruto—"

"I know." He snarled.

All four increased their speed.

They reached the edge of something and suddenly they were at the top of a cliff and downhill were the awaiting faces of five Akatsuki.

Out of the corner of their eye, another black cloak fluttered.

"The woman—"

"We saw." Kiba bumped shoulders with Naruto, keeping him in check.

"Do you know where she's going?"

Hinata tried to grasp the situation but—

Kiba whispered harshly, "Hinata!"

The Byakugan, still active, knew where that woman was going. "I have her in my sights." Suddenly she realized their intention. The boys stood in front of her, ready for action. "Naruto…"

Kiba came to his senses again. He stepped back from Naruto, "Hinata. We're going after that woman. Naruto, do you have a radio?" Naruto shook his head.

Hinata reached out in a flurry and grabbed the back of Naruto's shirt.

"We'll be back. Be here… when we come back."

Naruto peeked over his shoulder at her. He leaned back into her hand.

"I promise."

Hinata's fingers slid from that familiar fabric and without a moment's breath, Naruto was flying down the hill.

In one last burst of regret, Hinata jerked forward to follow when Kiba whistled sharply. Akamaru fell back to his side. He grabbed Hinata by the arm and hauled her seamlessly onto his friend's back.

They set off in the direction of Konan. Hinata made an effort to keep her sights on their target, trying to remain ignorant of what awaited Naruto. Akamaru ran for Hinata as she focused on the elusive woman. Some kind of barrier was fogging her vision, but she could still see. She had the Byakugan to thank for that.

The buildings resumed the further from the battle ground they got. That barrier got stronger and stronger as they gained on the Akatsuki. Hinata was enveloped by the shadows of the city and something else. There was a presence, heavily disguised, hidden in the city. It seemed to _be_ the city.

The focus of that presence in a very separate direction from the woman.

A detour meant to keep them from finding that presence?

"Kiba." She kept her eyes closed, pinpointing the location. "We have to go…" She lifted her hand and showed the way. "…that way."

"She's right in front of us! We're close. If we change course, we'll lose her."

Hinata took a breath and hurled herself off Akamaru, running on the path only the Byakugan could see. It was like looking into a bowl of murky water, the world was distorted when you looked without suspicion.

The Akatsuki were fighting to hide something.

Kiba reluctantly ran after her. "Hinata!"

She knew he would follow so she continued without answering him.

The city was suddenly a maze. Precious minutes passed and they ran past blocked paths, climbed over toppled structures. Kiba was falling victim to the illusion.

"We passed this point already! You're going in circles!"

She trudged on and he was helplessly led—completely lost.

Hinata stuck her feet to the ground and pulled all of her focus. Kiba nearly collided with her abrupt stop.

It was so close. The world was so wrecked by the illusion. It was so obvious. She was in the center of the delusion. There was a glint, like the sun off a reflection.

"Kiba… Look up."

He did and his face paled.

"What is this…?"

The building above them rose far past the skyline. Yet, from any part of the city, it was invisible.

Hinata walked closer, her legs suddenly quivering. Her body could feel the rejection of reality.

"Hinata, get down!" Kiba grabbed her and hid in the overhang left on the face of the building. They both looked up and watched a black cloak flutter. Wings of paper cut into the wind and landed high above.

Kiba looked at Hinata with bright eyes and rubbed her head. "You rock, Hinata."

She released a wide smile and grabbed his hand. As soon as the Akatsuki was out of sight, they began clamoring up the wall, clinging close to the sides and out of sight.

Akamaru moved this with ease and aided their ascent.

Hinata kept her attention on her feet and not on the world below. They passed the tops of the other buildings and could suddenly see again. There was a strange haze around the building—probably a part of the genjutsu protecting it.

There was a grunt from above and she looked up in time to catch Kiba falling back into her.

He snickered, "I hate heights."

Hinata smiled as she and Akamaru helped him get his footing again.

As they continued, Kiba whispered to her. "When this is all over, I'm getting a big bowl of udon. Big enough to fill two Chouji's. And you, Hinata? You should ask Naruto to take you out!"

She giggled and blushed bright red.

Kiba leaned into her as they climbed and whispered with excitement, "No! No. He should take _us_ to dinner. He'll pay. I get my free food and _you_ get a date! I'll be there the whole time, so you don't have to be nervous. We'll drag Shino along and he'll give Naruto a hard time like always."

Hinata took an easier breath and imagined it.

She wanted this battle to be over. She wanted to go back to those peaceful times. More than anything.

"Kiba—"

He tapped her shoulder and put a finger to his mouth. She sucked in her breath and looked up. They were almost to the entrance.

Akamaru moved below them, preparing to launch them up into the space.

They inched closer and closer.

Voices, muffled by the wind around them, were elevated in argument.

"You can't control them all, Nagato! Release the Juubi!"

Kiba made eye contact with Hinata and she nodded. She was ready.

"You will _die_ trying to do it all!"

Kiba dipped his head to count:

"Get out! I can't concentrate!"

_1… _

"The Kyuubi is before me. It is all coming together."

_2…_

"I need all the Paths of Pain if I'm going to..."

_3— _

* * *

"You can't control them all, Nagato! Release the Juubi!"

"You know what will happen if I do. It is out of the question."

"We can just find them again. If you are going to capture the Kyuubi, you _have_ to release Juubi. You will _die_ trying to do it all!"

"Get out! I can't concentrate! The Kyuubi is before me. It is all coming together. I need all the Paths of Pain if I'm going to..." His body faltered and he fell forward.

The seventh Pain.

Red hair that drooped around his sickly face. His bones stuck out under stretched skin. Spires of black came from his back and he was littered with the same black piercings as the rest. He was contained, half standing—now half slouched.

Konan went to his side as he coughed. Blood splattered on her hands and she helped him stay upright.

"Nagato…"

There was a sound from the entrance, a radio coming to life, that startled her. Both heads snapped to attention.

There at the opening stood two shinobi.

Konan gathered paper in her hand and prepared to unleash it when a black object flew by her face. She heard it make contact with a body and then the pained release of air.

* * *

Naruto slowed his run as he reached the level ground where the Akatsuki waited. He created two clones and they gathered around his hand.

The one heading them stepped forward.

"At long last, I meet my fellow disciple."

The beginnings of a _rasengan _swelled in his palm. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Pain's unfeeling expression held Naruto for just long enough. "We studied under the same teacher. I was a student of Jiraiya, so we should be able to understand each other… Like our teacher, I long for peace—"

"Don't make me laugh!" Naruto released the clones and the swirling jutsu expanded.

Behind him the sun went black.

"Look at what you've done!"

The jutsu was tainted with red chakra and grew a little more.

The Kyuubi in Naruto rose. "_How can you call this peace!_"

Pain's head tilted slightly. "You are beneath it. It is all in God's hands. My hands. Come quietly. Your death will lead to peace."

"I said—" Naruto drew back and flung the burning red ball of chakra. "_DON'T MAKE ME LAUGH!_"

Unknown to Naruto—away their battle, the sand descended onto the monster and filled the air with warped cries.

There was a second, just as the jutsu was leaving his fingertips, where the five Akatsuki froze.

Naruto saw that instant where the light left their eyes and something stopped.

The jutsu reached the first Pain and they came back to life. The large Akatsuki behind him, Shuradou, grabbed his shoulder and yanked him out of the way. The panels on his body opened and rockets shot out as his body was being chopped in half. The orb expanded and Ningendou's arm was caught in the fraying feat.

The _Rasen Shuriken _freed its awesome power and faded into red light.

Naruto stood with the crater between him and his four enemies. He charged them and they countered. They danced back, traveling further and further from the monster towering in the distance and the destroyed city beside them.

His skin faded into nothing and the Kyuubi began merging with his body.

A lone tale wiped behind him.

He changed and his sadness from before faded into something more real.

Jiraiya was dead.

Jiraiya was dead.

But…

_T__his battle is bigger than you and me__…_

Gaara was right.

* * *

Hinata stared at the black rod sticking out of Kiba's chest.

His eyelids slid closed and he gurgled blood in his mouth. He fell and Hinata grabbed him.

"Kiba!"

A sea of paper hit them and knocked them from the tower.

Akamaru, still under the ledge, pushed off the building and flew close behind.

His bristled fur, undistinguishable from the white surrounding them, found its way to Hinata's hand. She gripped his skin hard and hauled herself to him. She pulled Kiba onto his companion's back and the cover of the paper vanished.

They were falling.

The buildings roofs were above them and she realized which way was up. She and Akamaru spun in mid-flight and she managed to mount him, squeezing his ribs with her knees, preparing for impact.

The roof nearest to them came almost too quickly. Just in time, the sky and earth was in its place and they came crashing through the first two floors they met.

Hinata cried out, holding onto Kiba and feeling the rod pressing against her side.

The world stopped and Akamaru's legs unbent. Hinata knocked the rubble off of them and got off the beast.

Covered in scrapes, feeling the ache of bones, she ignored it all. She grabbed the mic off of Kiba's neck and strapped it to her own.

"Akamaru, run!"

The beast hesitated and she flipped a kunai in her hand, throwing it at his feet. He leapt away and whimpered.

"Get Kiba out of here!"

He obeyed and jumped out of the building. Hinata watched him go through the window of the closest structure.

She noticed the swarm of paper coming after her just in time.

Hinata ran out of the room of the unfamiliar building and down a long abandoned hall. The paper scurried after her, slicing the walls as it went.

She found stairs and was half way down when she looked outside.

Paper was all around her like enraged birds.

She heard the groan of exhausted concrete, then the floor dropped.

The stairs started to collapse and Hinata burst out of the window, surrounded by glass and paper. She fell again, but the ground wasn't far.

She hit and rolled. As soon as her foot touched the ground she was running.

All she could comprehend was her feet flying below her. She had to escape. She had to say what she had seen. She had to tell Naruto.

The Akatsuki's secret.

The seventh Pain.

The waterfall of paper hit the street behind her and she prepared chakra in her hands.

"_Shugo_ _Hakke: Ten No Te!"_

Hinata turned around and the Byakugan possessed her eyes. Her feet glided to a stop and she was surrounded in the paper.

Her hands moved with trails of light. Light from chakra. Scraps of paper dropped around her—sliced, punctured, shredded. She spun, letting the Hyuuga's bloodline rule her body.

The swarm expanded and contracted, cycling in new paper all around her. She could tell—through the link Konan had with the paper—that she was closing in.

Hinata slowly took steps back, not once breaking her concentration. The collection at her feet completely encased her in white and she found an isolated focus she had never felt before. The illusion around them threw each sense into awkward confusion. But Hinata could find peace in her bloodline that she knew Konan couldn't achieve.

Something clicked in that moment.

This illusion was something Hinata shouldn't consider an obstacle, but instead an asset.

Hinata ran in a spurt from the rain of paper. Konan appeared on the rooftop and Hinata turned to go in the opposite direction. Konan followed on foot.

Hinata curved in and out of buildings and could feel the buildup of the genjutsu. Konan's brain couldn't possibly process all of those layers falling on her as they weaved deeper into the city. The kunoichi kept a close eye on her opponent behind her. The paper around her was slowing. She continued to bend the illusion around them and all at once, Konan stopped. The paper dropped to the ground.

Hinata stopped, the shaking in her legs was getting stronger but she could hold it.

She turned and walked calmly back to Konan. She faced her, only a few feet away.

The woman was standing still. Her head was lifted up and her eyes stared at nothing. A piece of paper was unfolding from her cheek, lifted and waved by the breeze. Hinata was calmed by the confusion in her chakra systems, but it was slowly sorting itself out. Layer by layer, the woman was figuring it out.

Hinata took out a kunai and looked at it in her hand.

Without taking opportunity presented to her, Hinata walked by.

Hinata started untangling herself from the city and searched for the outside again. Before anything else, Naruto needed to know what she knew. She pressed the mic on her neck and was met with static. The genjutsu was enough to interfere with the connection?

The faster she got out of the city's remains, the better.

She leapt onto the side of a building and climbed up. Across rooftops she moved with ease, constantly checking the radio's response.

"Can anyone hear me?"

She asked over and over.

When she left the veil, she felt a weight vanish from her shoulders and suddenly her speed increased.

She suddenly hoped that Kiba and Akamaru had gotten out safely.

Hinata set her eyes on the world below but Naruto was nowhere near where they had parted. She couldn't find a trace of him. Her Byakugan could vaguely sense him—he was still alive—but it was almost blurry. Her Byakugan was fatigued by its constant use.

"Hello?" Someone called back on the radio into her ear. Someone had heard her. "Hinata?" It was Lee.

"Yes! Thank goodness—Listen to me, Lee. Kiba is injured. I've sent him back to you on Akamaru—"

"Don't worry, we see them coming."

A sigh of relief, "Oh… Lee, I've managed to slow down the Akatsuki trailing me, but I don't have much time… There… There is a seventh Pain. In the city. In a tower. You can't find it from the outside because of a genjutsu cast on it—"

"Did you say a seventh Pain!"

"Yes. They've been hiding him. The chakra connected to him… The paths he controlled spread for miles. I've never seen anything like it. I need to tell Naruto, but he doesn't have a mic."

"Where is the tower?"

"The edge of the city that's still here…? Can you—?"

"I see it."

"Look at it closely. What is there? Start from one edge and move to the other—"

"There's a light?"

"Yes! Yes, that's a start. Go into the city there. The tower is at the center of the illusion. The closer you get the more obvious the genjutsu becomes."

The others were listening in the background because Hinata could hear Tenten relaying the information on a radio.

"Lee, I've got to go. Where is Naruto? I can't see him."

"What are you going to do?"

Hinata didn't answer. She looked out from the shroud of the illusion. The mirage of structures in the distance collided with her memory of what the destroyed city looked like. It was useless to use her eyes to find Naruto.

"Hinata! What are you going to do?"

She heard a rustle on the other end of the mic and was met by her cousin's voice.

"Hinata, I know what you're thinking, but it's too dangerous for you to go. Naruto is probably fighting right now. If you go there, you will only endanger yourself."

She heard Lee's voice in the background, "I'll go, Neji."

Hinata couldn't tell exactly what was said, but she heard something of Tenten's protest.

"Hinata? Hinata, are you still there?"

She took a breath and pressed the mic, "I'm right here."

"Come back to us here. There are reinforcements coming. They were gathering here to help Naruto, but we'll send them to the tower instead if what you say is true."

"It _is _true."

"I don't doubt you; we just have to be sure."

"Naruto has to know, Neji."

"Do _not_ go to Naruto."

"Who there can get to him now?"

"The reinforcements will—"

"Neji!" Hinata silenced him. "I'm asking you who can get there _now_. This can't wait. He is fighting for us now…! He is fighting right _now_ and you want me to wait? You want me to wait for someone else to—!"

"If you go in, what will you do! What can you possibly do?"

Hinata clenched her open hand and shut her eyes tightly, shouting into the mic, "Are you really going to sit there and tell me how useless I am! I am fighting too! I am fighting just as much as you—right now, _more_ than you! I am here! I am here and—… I might die here but I don't care! I don't care what you think I'm capable of. I don't care what you say I can and cannot do. I am not something you can just measure or put away in your rationalized world. Not matter how much you think you know you cannot understand _WHO I AM_!…"

There was no response.

Hinata was staring straight ahead. The opening before her was wide. It took up almost all of her field of vision.

"I'm _not_ going to wait. You can help me or you can _sit_ there… and you can do _nothing_. Regardless… I am going. You cannot control that."

She heard the static.

Then Tenten's voice, "Neji! What are you doing! Your chakra—"

"Tenten."

Hinata started a light jog getting closer to the end of the long roof.

"I see you. Go west. Until you hit the edge of the city. Follow the wall south. You'll find them."

Her jog became a run and she reached the edge. She pushed off and leapt into the air, clearing the shorter roofs until all that was beneath her was the rubble again. Then dirt.

Hinata focused the chakra in her feet and made impact.

She left the crater in the earth behind without a passing thought.

West.

"Neji?"

Shikamaru's familiar voice came over the mic and Hinata listened to their conversation.

"Did you hear Hinata?"

She turned a light pink at the thought of someone hearing her outburst.

"Yeah, I did. Neji… what did Naruto look like?"

Hinata felt the pause and understood it. It was Neji's habit to take a moment before censoring the truth.

"I think he's still in control. Where is your team?"

"We're going back to the gates. We have some injured with us. About Naruto, how many Akatsuki are with him?"

"I couldn't tell."

"Hinata," he called.

"Yes?"

"Shikamaru—"

Neji didn't want her in any deeper than she already was.

She ignored him, "What is it?"

"What did he look like… The seventh Akatsuki?"

"He had the same eyes as the others. The spirals. There was so much chakra being channeled through him. He had these black spears sticking out of him. When we went in there… he shot one into Kiba."

"What about the chakra? Channeled?"

"That's the only way I can describe it. From him, there were these channels… I could almost feel the chakra moving from the tower as soon as we got in there."

"Hinata, is that spear…"

She was appalled. She had left the black rod in Kiba. "I… I left it. The woman was coming after us and I didn't have time… I didn't realize…"

"That's okay, Hinata. It may not be a bad thing."

"We got a hold of Akamaru. Kiba's with us now."

"Is he alright!"

Neji waited before responding and Hinata struggled to contain her worry. "He'll be alright." Hinata knew right away that he was lying. He didn't want his uncertainty to come across and worry her. Too bad she knew him so well. "There are medics on their way. They'll be here soon."

"Neji, I'm coming to you."

"Shikamaru?"

"I want to take a look at that spear." They could hear him talking to his team. "I'll get there as fast as I can."

"What are you thinking?"

"I think that… they may be connected. I've been talking to Kakashi. He fought more than one at once. They seem to be linked. They all have those rods in them, those piercings. Filled with chakra. But I can't be sure. Have you taken it out of him yet?"

"I don't know if we should. He might bleed to death. His systems are so unstable already."

"It's probably because of the spear itself. Take it out as carefully as you can. And quickly."

"If they are linked, what does the seventh Akatsuki have to do with this?"

"I don't know, but one way or another, we're going to find out."

Hinata was enveloped in the conversation when something fluttered by her face.

A thin piece of white.

Before she could physically react, the paper came down on her. It whipped around her, shredding her. The constant slicing wasn't nearly as prominent as the paper threatening to suffocate her. She was constantly moving her body and keeping her nose and mouth clear, knowing that the moment she stopped… it was over.

There was a distinct pain on her neck that confused her. The paper wasn't going for her arteries but something else.

There was feedback on her radio and Shikamaru's voice came in and out.

With frantic hands, she knocked away the paper there before more damage could be done.

From every chakra outlet on her body, Hinata sent a shock and the chakra exploded outward. An orb, a shield around her lasted just long enough for her to escape the constant bombardment. Hinata scrambled forward only to be stopped at the sight of the female Akatsuki.

Her chakra system was still jumbled, but she had enough clarity to move the paper. Her own body was another story. She seemed stiffened by cold. What had the most life was her eyes.

The paper tried to encircle her, but Hinata was ready this time.

"_Ten No Te!_"

Her hands went wild. She didn't need the Byakugan to know this jutsu's trick. The chakra in the paper was easy enough to sever from the woman's control. She could conserve. She could survive.

From the curtain of white, Hinata saw the woman. Their eyes met briefly.

The voices from the mic were still coming, though a little indistinct.

"Hinata? They're on the move. Naruto has gone further from the city. Get over the wall and go north. You have to hurry or you'll lose your chance."

As the mic clicked off, something shifted in Konan.

Her eyes filled with panic and a maddening desperation.

It was then that Hinata realized the weight of her situation just as Konan realized what Hinata was going to do.

Hinata knew their secret…

And soon, so would Naruto.

Hinata watched those eyes harden with resolution. Her stomach hit rock bottom with fear. As if she had never known fear before.

This woman…

This woman would go to any length to kill her.

* * *

This has been part 2! There's one more to go! Let's do this thing. I'll try to be on top of this update just because I know how hard it is to read a story with such big breaks between chapters.

Hey, guess what? I'm writing my novel! It's going really well. That's what's been holding me up. That and college. You know. Life. Ha!

See you soon! Thanks for reading.

Next Chapter – A Human's Strength

…

A soul that did not suffer would never fully know itself.

_David L. Weatherford_


	13. A Human's Strength

This is the third and final part of this arc! Finally I'm finished with it! Bleeeeeugh… (Took me almost a year to updaaate... I'm pretty sure.)

* * *

Playlist: Hallelujah (Paramore), Paper Walls (Yellowcard), The Catalyst (Linkin Park), and Blame it on the Pop (DJ Earworm).

* * *

A soul that did not suffer would never fully know itself.

David L. Weatherford

* * *

…

A Human's Strength

…

* * *

Naruto swayed forward. The missiles, shot as Pain's body was devoured by his rasengan, reached their peak in the air and came tumbling down at him. The first missed, exploding on the ground. The second and third didn't make it past his chakra shield and erupted in the air around him. The smoke rolled at his feet. He let his arms swing and as they moved back he let their momentum drag him into a sprint.

The other rockets followed him, creating disaster in his wake.

Past the three remaining bodies of Pain, Naruto went straight through to Jigokudou. The remaining missiles held them off just long enough. As his clawed hand was about to descend on his speechless target, a figure flickered between. With only one arm, Ningendou attacked Naruto and forced him to take a step back. Naruto blocked and quickly lowered his center of gravity. The shinobi's fist flew over Naruto's head as he ducked and he grabbed that arm, flinging Ningendou over his shoulder and back twenty feet. Naruto was about to spring from his crouched position when he felt the invisible force of Tendou launching him far from their shattered numbers.

He waited to hit the ground when something caught him. He crashed into a large body of living rock, a panda. It smashed him into the ground with a gigantic arm.

The panda waddled back and carefully watched the figure buried in the ground. Naruto could see Chikushoudou landed in front of Tendou through the cracks. Before he could even stand, a giant horn dug under him and flung him high. He looked down at the party of summonings waiting for him. It was the rhino that threw him. Flanking it was the panda and a monstrous ram.

He drew back his fist and the ghost of chakra encased it. A red cloud was gathering behind him and as the panda went in front of the others to block, Naruto released a chakra clout right into its chest.

The Summoner stared in awe at the large red arm sticking through the supposedly unmovable beast. The panda vanished, and through the dust the rhino charged. A second tail, freshly materialized, weaved effortlessly through its anatomy. Cracks began forming all over the body and chakra leaked out just before the embedded tail tore the animal to pieces from the inside out. In a sudden panic, Chikushoudou put her hands together.

The ram jumped and dodged his limbs and tails with unexpected agility. Naruto smacked the ground and gave in to a frustrated pursuit as the third tail started to take shape. He trailed it with a predator's discernment, lost in the determination to win.

The ram lead back him over the crater made by missiles. His foot reached the rim of the hole and instantly there was a change below. Bursting out in a coil was a centipede filled with piercings as the others. The body contracted around Naruto, blinding him in the wind of its movement. A swarm of dogs, freshly summoned, fell upon Naruto's confined figure and began shredding whatever they could get their teeth on. The centipede moved away from their target and crawled out of the way.

"We need him alive."

With those words the hounds stopped and slunk back a few steps to reveal the tattered mess lying on the ground.

The dogs merged into one and trotted back to stand by the centipede and ram.

Ningendou walked up to the bloody mess and nodded to himself. Their target was still alive. Tendou behind him prepped a spear in his hand to skewer Naruto with when a black tail impaled Ningendou and picked him up. The summonings were racing in to help when a ball of chakra flashed through the air, leaving a large hole in the head of the ram. A black head with wide white eyes rose, swallowing something. His body bloated with power and as he opened his mouth a beam of light obliterated Ningendou from the waist up. He shut it, cutting off the power, and turned to look at the summonings.

They scattered, realizing his intentions, leaving the ram to vanish with a poof.

Chakra oozed, pooling out of him and spreading. It ate away the remains of Ningendou. Naruto rose in his fourth tailed form, still heavy with the chakra in his belly. He slowly turned to face the group of Pain watching him.

The shock on their faces was temporary when the ram reappeared in white smoke and knocked Naruto from the side, the chakra went straight into the ground. Naruto's tails clobbered the animal as a wall of molten earth broke out of the ground, churning with chakra.

There were four of them left now. Tendou stared at the action before them as it the ram died and waited to see the demon faced Naruto waiting for them behind the pyre as it settled.

The same time they realized he wasn't where they expected, Jigokudou, their only means of rejuvenating, was stabbed from behind, and Chikushoudou was kicked into the sky. All the summonings turned and dove at him at once. He shook balls of chakra off his body and caught on of those close in his mouth. The dogs had multiplied and covered almost all of his vision as they closed in. Through the cracks he could see Chikushoudou in the background, still falling. The ground was disturbed again as the centipede wrapped its body around Naruto, playing the same trick as before, and immobilizing him before the dogs landed.

He chewed on the small ball of chakra and stared at the body steadily descending in the distance. Without another wasted second, he spat the chakra with pinpoint accuracy. Chikushoudou's eyes met Naruto for only an instant before one of them was taken out by the attack. She reached up to the hole where her eye once was and it began corroding. Soon half of her face was gone.

By the time she reached the ground there was nothing left but the Akatsuki robe and a handful of piercings.

The summonings vanished and Naruto stood with his four tails. Jigokudou, whose body was rotting off one of Naruto's tails, hit the ground as a pile of ashes. Distracted by the victory, Naruto was unprepared when Gakidou grabbed him by a tail and flung him high, then down hard. Naruto disappeared in the impression created by impact. Gakidou looked at his burning hands and gripped them against the pain. He held open palms down at Naruto and began drawing Naruto's chakra into him.

Blond hair forced its way up and a bare arm began pulling him out of the hole. Blood and skin were struggling to reform, but the chakra was being sucked out too fast. He couldn't maintain the tails and they retracted into him once more. He squirmed out of the crack, but could barely stand. His skin, completely clear of the deadly chakra, was easy to take a hold of and Gakidou got him, crushing his Naruto's ribs and making him cry out. He could feel his seal inside burning and his consciousness wavered.

_"Kyuubi!"_

_Naruto was in the black, searching for the chakra of the demon. He couldn't even find the gate._

_ "Kyuubi!"_

_He felt another wave of energy leaving him and took a knee in the endless pool of water surrounding him. Nausea ripped through him and he grasped at the black ink on his stomach._

_ "_Where are you, boy?…_" Kyuubi's weak voice echoed in the hollow space. "_I can't feel anything…_"_

_ A sea of red suddenly hit him and he was drowning in the uncontrolled chakra of the Kyuubi. The Kyuubi couldn't maintain shape. The image of a fox seemed like an illusion and all that was left was this mass of chakra. An ocean that had no limits. Yet it was being drained. Naruto was losing his demon._

On the outside, Naruto grew paler and paler. His legs buckled and Gakidou was the only thing keeping him upright. The Jinchuuriki reeled and his eyes turned white again.

_"What's happening...?"_ _Bubbles rose from his mouth and he felt his own form fading away into nothingness._

_ And in that formlessness, Naruto's consciousness was barely there. He couldn't hear the Kyuubi's voice anymore. But somewhere in that sea, he could feel the fear and the desperation foreign to him._

_ His mind cried, where is my home? How did this happen? Where is the Hachibi? What am I looking for? They've sealed me. They've sealed me! I cannot be contained. I cannot be controlled. It is impossible. It is impossible! Ah… It can't be… I'm dying? In this body. I can't… I can't be killed. I can't die here. It can't be…_

_ The Kyuubi's voice was like a lull in the back of Naruto's consciousness. But the form was no longer there. Yet… yet there was power in him._

_ "I cannot be killed. I cannot die here!"_

_Naruto stood._

_ Like he had woken from a nightmare, he was standing in the blackness of his mind._

_But he was standing alone._

_The Kyuubi…_

_Was it gone?_

Naruto stopped moving.

_No…_

_ No. The Kyuubi wasn't gone…_

"If we give him to the Juubi, the Kyuubi will be absorbed." Tendou approached Naruto in his stillness. He was still alive, but barely.

_…But there was no "container," or "vessel." There was no separation._

Bubbling chakra startled Gakidou. Quickly he drained it away. Tendou stepped back with new uneasiness.

_Naruto _was_ the Kyuubi._

Another tail formed, a second and third well on the way. The red chakra was a lighter color than the last tail. It was sucked away. Another and another appeared, and Gakidou struggled to keep up. They were lighter and lighter each time. Turning from the deep blood colored chakra to something orange, and then glinting like the yellow of a setting sun.

Gakidou gasped and struggled to sap him of everything, but his body was reacting. He choked and wheezed, black dust sprayed out of his mouth and his hands started to shake.

Naruto's body was encased in chakra, golden and shining. His skin glimmered beneath and merged with the bright color. The black of his seal curled around his body, forming symbols and tracing lines across his figure. His eyes, shut by lack of consciousness and strength, flew open with new vigor and their blue light was not suppressed by the chakra. Effortlessly he threw out his arms and knocked back Gakidou.

But as soon as this power was gained, it was stolen away.

A shock came from behind and Naruto was immobilized. He stared down at his chest and looked at the black spear coming through. He took in a gasping breath and reached for it. A surge of overpowering pain hit him. Another spear slid through his shoulder like butter, pushing him down into the ground face first. Naruto felt Tendou snap the spear from him so it could remain in his body.

He staggered up and tried to turn only to be right hooked in the jaw and spun to the miserable ground.

"You've destroyed my bodies." Tendou looked at his knuckles and sighed, "You are a very persistent, very foolish shinobi."

Naruto smirked up at him and said, "One left…"

Tendou drew back a foot and kicked him in the face. Naruto rolled onto his back with a aggrieved roar. "Wrong." Naruto was allowed to rise, watched closely by Tendou. The confidence was beaming from him. "You have lost, Uzumaki Naruto. Where my other bodies failed, I will not. You cannot harm me with your power. In fact, the more you have, the stronger I can bind you."

When Tendou readied to lance the other shoulder, Naruto shuffled forward and lifted a feeble hand. The tip went through his palm and into its destination without any resistance.

"_Shinra Tensei_." Tendou shoved Naruto down and put another two spears into his legs. "Peace is in my reach at last and finally this world will see justice."

Naruto roared, struggling dimly against the overwhelming force vibrating through his body. "Justice!" He spat, "This is war! You know nothing about—"

"Silence! Do you think the ninjas of Konoha are the only ones allowed to talk about peace and justice? These things have been used as excuses for revenge and murder long before I arrived. The world of ninjas is ruled by hatred. But I will bring it to an end. I will end the chain of hatred by unleashing a demon created by the evil of this world. You and I seek the same thing, don't you see? We both want the peace Jiraiya envisioned. You and I are the same. Both motivated by justice. And all of humanity will experience pain that cannot be erased by time." Tendou gazed back into the city where the black monster would be. He was filled with alarm and his proud expression faltered when he saw the cloud of sand attacking the Juubi. He contained himself. It was pathetic to try and defeat a monster of nature. The Juubi would undoubtedly win. The moment it awakened, the world's fate was sealed. "The ten tailed demon, controlled by me, will strike fear for generations. And this fear will be the death of war and this demon will be the death of all things."

Naruto sneered humorlessly, "What world will there be for you to command then? If what you say is true, there will be nothing left."

"No. Humans are persistent. They will recover and they will make the same mistakes. War will surface again. The chain of hate will begin once more. It may take years and years, but it will happen. And when they rise, I will return to level the earth… I will continue this never-ending cycle as many times as it takes until this world is purged of its illness."

Tendou knelt and placed his hand on Naruto's forehead.

"You are the key." The power of the Rinnegan flooded into the Jinchuuriki. He laughed quietly. "I can see it. I can see peace."

Naruto tried to resist, desperately searching for the power his body now possessed—that limitless chakra at his fingertips, with no strings attached. No matter how he tried, the spears deterred anything he managed to build up.

Tendou felt his intentions and pressed harder on Naruto.

This new wave knocked all thought away and his world went black.

"It's time for us to go."

As he spoke, an origami butterfly floated in his line of sight. He stared at the edge of their battlefield and fumed at the disruption coming his way.

* * *

Hinata moved with a determination she had never experienced. Her feet obeyed without any hesitation. She kept an image of Naruto forward in her mind as Neji's directions repeated endlessly in her head.

She had to live just long enough to tell Naruto the truth.

"_Ten no TE!_"

It felt like her veins were contracting in her skin as she pulled chakra she didn't know she had. Another big push or two and she would be on death's doorstep.

The wall of the city was upon them already.

Konan perched on the top, controlling the swirling waves of paper.

Hinata's chakra slipped from her fingers, shredding every piece without resistance. She placed only a fraction of attention on her defense as she hit the wall and began scaling it. Like a great serpent, the paper rolled around her, trying to catch her off-guard. Hinata took no time in pushing off the top of the wall and to the north. Konan was swept up by the winding stream of paper and followed closely.

She could see a smear in her horizon where Naruto's chakra was. He was so close, but looking through the Byakugan while being depleted to that extent was almost worthless. She disengaged her eyes and felt some strength return to her.

Heavy paper moved from behind, different from the fluttering around her. Her enemy ripped a scroll from her cloak. Konan threw it over her shoulder to unravel and, with a bloody thumb, rubbed a symbol. Both were shrouded in white when the summoning jutsu activated and when they burst from the smoky cloud Konan had wings once more. She sliced past Hinata and dragged the fresh storm of paper into her.

Hinata was knocked into the mess of trees at the edge of the city. She rolled and went straight into a run. The paper worked around the trees with a different kind of determination. They were catching up. Konan flew high above and away from Hinata as the first wave reached her and her fingers sliced though. A piece went past her face and the previously flawless paper was now covered in scrawled characters. She recognized it instantly:

Explosive tags.

The paper ignited and she leapt high, catching the nearest branch and launching into the sky. There was the crackle of a fiery chain reaction and the roar of fire swelling after her.

Hinata was thrown by the force and frantically kicked and struggled in the air to keep from hitting head first. At the peak she could see the opening where Naruto was. She was nearly there. She smashed through the trees and met the ground with little delicacy. The bones in her right arm snapped when she braced her fall, but she brushed it aside.

The paper didn't let up.

Another wave of explosions came, tearing her path out from under her. Trees were lifted into the air. She felt her legs get encased in heat, but managed to stay away. Konan cried from above and paper came down on her, slowing her just enough. She was swallowed by both plain paper and explosive tags to the point that her family's bloodline couldn't keep up.

She didn't escape when the tags lit. When she dropped, she didn't get up.

Konan landed in front of the stunned woman. A spear of paper whirled and tightened in her hand and she drew back. Under the hair haphazardly thrown over her face, Hinata's expression turned cold and she shot up, grabbing the tip of the spear.

She was too close to lose now. And she was also too close to miss.

"_Hakke…_" Hinata murmured, staring at Konan's failing poise. "_Shoukyaku._"

A shield of light shot out of Hinata, taking in Konan and all of the paper around her. There was a strange fizzling sound and for a split second Konan could see strange silver slivers moving in the shell around them. It dispersed as suddenly as it had been created and the paper became inanimate. The symbols of the explosive tag faded away, and Konan staggered back, overcome by fear. She dropped to her knees and her limbs went limp. Hinata moved to her calmly and lifted the sleeve of the black cloak. Her arm was peppered with bruises.

"Your chakra points have been sealed."

Hinata let Konan tip over and slap the ground with an unresponsive body. Her fingers and arms twitched, struggling to rebuild the paths of chakra and gain control once again. Hinata stepped back and the backlash of using overusing chakra hit her. She convulsed and also went to her knees.

She panted and tears gathered. The release of stress tempted her to laugh and the lure of sleep was frighteningly strong.

But Naruto was waiting.

She got up. Her hands were shaking as she took out a handful of soldier provision pills. She shoved close to a dozen in her mouth and chewed. Using more than three or four at a time would give you fast and powerful results, but it was dangerous to take more than that in one setting. Hinata figured that if death had spared her thus far a couple extra pills were no big deal.

She turned north again and started walking.

In moments, the rush took her. She was bursting with energy and she let out a pained scream. She let the chakra out of all her pores and it covered her fists. She was running full out before she knew it. The shape of the chakra solidified into spectral lion heads and it blurred with light, streaming behind her as she sprinted to the field where Pain waited.

She sprung high in the air when she reached the end of the trees, her pain far behind her. Her jump arced and she was coming right at the two stagnant figures.

"_Juuho Soushiken__!_"

Tendou's spiral eyes gazed up and she snarled as her fist came at him.

Both were covered in the dust and Hinata's Byakugan came alive with new flare. The chakra vibrated in her body and she lunged at the shadow of his form through the blinding smoke. Her hands flickered around him and her enemy was knocked back with no mercy.

Tendou grunted in frustration, "_Shinra Tensei…!_"

Hinata was hurled out of the dust and caught herself with ease. She searched the scene for Naruto and as soon as she saw him lying there unresponsive and bleeding she sucked in a startled breath.

"N-Naruto…! Naruto!" She called him, still keeping watch on Tendou who had successfully created safe distance between them. "Can you hear me?"

She took a step toward him and Tendou countered.

"It seems we have an unwanted guest." He walked to Naruto and kicked his side. He rolled with a groan, the black spires digging into the ground and stirring up his body.

He looked at her with dulled senses. "…Hinata?"

She could have wept, "Naru—"

He woke up from the daze and from his position called out in agitated terror, "What are you doing! RUN!"

"Naruto, listen to me! This isn't him! This isn't Pain!" For a split second she looked away from Tendou to see if Naruto could hear, and in that second he attacked.

A spear shot past her face and her force of chakra knocked it off course. The lions on her fists swelled and she twirled in the air when four more black shapes zipped past. She was pushed further back. Her landing was light and she went right back at him. Her heart was pounding in her ears.

He tried to push her, but he only caught her shoulder when she moved out of the way. She went to his back and her fist met his spine. It was Tendou's turn to fly.

While he was helplessly flung in the distance, Hinata dashed to Naruto and reached for the spear. When she grabbed it, she flinched. The hostile chakra being forced into Naruto tried to invade her. She forced it out of her and ripped it from his body a little too gruffly.

"Why are you here!" His voice was coarse, "Why did you come!"

She grabbed the second spear and with a smile said, "Because I promised I would come back."

"Stupid—! You're going to die!"

She pulled the second out more gingerly, "I'm not…" She sighed and looked at him gently. "I'm not afraid to die for you…" Her hand moved for his face, but she hesitated. "Naruto."

Tendou moved behind her and Hinata was caught off-guard when she got pushed forward tumbling past Naruto and onto her face.

The chakra lions came alive as he appeared by her. She tried to attack but was tossed. As soon as she landed, he appeared there and repeated the attack. Each time, she felt the broken bone in her arm creak and her chakra took a beating trying to cushion her crashes.

"Hinata!" Naruto had managed to get upright and pulled the third spear out.

With new anxiety, she remembered her mission. She couldn't die before Naruto knew the truth.

"Naruto! This isn't Pain's real body! There's someone controlling them all, they're all connected. He's in the city still—"

He came from behind and she parried with him. He let her, and she knew he was letting her. She felt in his chakra when he was preparing to strike and, as he lifted his hand, she yelled with all her strength:

"HAKKE SHOUKYAKU—" She put her hands in front and all her chakra funneled through them, "—HA!"

The shield expanded as before with Konan, but then it slammed into itself, following the line of her hands. The shimmer of chakra was thin as a strand of hair. There was suddenly a very heightened battle for power between them, neither moving a muscle. The bubble around Hinata was fading into that thin line and the invisible force of Tendou seemed unyielding. She bellowed in the struggle and held out against him.

Tendou's blank, confident stare waned and then it was over.

Tendou stood bewildered. Shinra Tensei had been stopped.

Hinata's body threatened to collapse and she panted loudly.

He looked at his hand and dark spots were appearing on his skin. The piercing had cracked.

Livid, he looked at Hinata and used his other hand to make her float. A spear appeared from his cloak. Hinata thrashed and Naruto watched, unable to do anything.

"_Bansho Tensei_."

"NO!" Naruto roared, rising to his feet. "HINATA!"

Tendou lifted her by the spear and thrust it into the ground, pinning her there. He looked at Naruto with those crazed eyes and readied another. Naruto tried to move his legs but he was frozen.

Hinata stared into the point of the black spear. Everything was fuzzy.

"_This_ is pain."

There was a roar, a sound that made her want to cry. The spear hovering above her aimed for her heart and she lifted her hand.

Her words were numbered. "I… I—s-orry…Naruto." She reached for him in her mind, wishing she had touched him when she had the chance. "I love you…!"

Tendou was looking at her. There was a flicker of what could have been sadness in his face. Hinata wondered if his thoughts were on Konan, who had tried so desperately to protect him. She wondered if Konan's feelings had reached him at all.

She felt a weight on her shoulder and the skin and bone in the path of his strike were pushed aside or broken.

The cry of the beast was even louder.

"Do you _still_ think that people can ever truly understand each other? Because of the existence of love, sacrifice is born… as well as hate… and—"

Hinata's head fell to the side and she looked at what was there. Thick bones were bracing themselves to hold up what used to be Naruto.

"—We will know pain."

There was a pool of blinding chakra forming around Naruto and the mouth of the monster was open as it howled.

Hinata was trapped in her fear.

"N…"

Then both of them surged into the sky.

* * *

"This is what hit him."

Shikamaru stood beside Lee as they stared at the black spear with wariness as though it would jump up at them and attack. The reinforcements had gathered there finally. Kiba, Shino, and Neji were lying unconscious. Kakashi walked away from Tenten who was being examined by a medic and joined them.

"Hinata said it came from a seventh Pain."

Kakashi nodded his head as he said, "This is the same as the piercings."

Shikamaru considered this with serious, calculating eyes. "And they communicate through them?"

"No, the bodies are dead." Kakashi knelt and picked it up. "They are reanimated by chakra alone, moving as one mind—extensions of one body." He held it out for Shikamaru to touch and feel the chakra moving through it. He did and flinched back. Kakashi dropped it when his point was proven. "This last Pain, he is the master. He must be."

Behind them there was a commotion about a flare that had just been fired by the wall where Naruto was last seen. Tenten was crying out for Hinata, terrified of what this flare could mean. Medics and shinobi were already forming a team to investigate. But this conversation was missed by the three that surveyed the city.

Shikamaru turned to Lee, "You said the building Hinata identified is the highest point in the city. Transmitting chakra from there would be easy and it would have a wide range. But it's still hidden by genjutsu."

"I can see it." Kakashi pointed at his eye and smirked.

Shikamaru sighed, "Nevermind." He searched the city until the glint of light Hinata described appeared. Beside him, Kakashi was adjusting his shoes and checking his packs. Shikamaru did the same and said, "Are you ready?"

Kakashi laughed, "Do you need to ask?"

He dipped his head in silent laughter, "Sheesh. What a carefree guy."

The three of them ran towards the city.

* * *

The skeleton of a demon had Tendou trapped in its claws as they flew higher and higher. Orbs of chakra went into the air, bleeding off of Naruto's enraged body. The chakra that was stunning in purity turned darker and darker until it was black and empty. The strange similarity between this body and that of the Juubi behind played tricks on Tendou's vision and they blurred together.

"_Shinra Tensei_." He knocked free of the demon's grip and realized how high up he was.

While he fell, the demon opened its mouth and swallowed the chakra and spewed the condensed power at him.

The jutsu was up and the five second window was wide open.

The line of light veered towards him and his arm was gone.

The demon's limbs reached the ground before he did and he was covered by its body. The air between him and the earth seemed to thicken and chakra enveloped him, ignoring the power of the Rinnegan and pushing into Tendou's boundaries.

He was inside the beast.

Everything was familiar. Every memory was near and dear to him. But they were not his. It was of the world. It was of all the pain in the world. Was this it? Was this what it felt like to hold a demon in your belly?

He was taken over by the memories and didn't feel impact with the trees.

_"Jiraiya was my teacher. He told me about the three orphans he helped in Rain Country. It's you, right? No… I know he was talking about you. You were his student."_ The chakra was blistering with fury. _"And you killed him."_

Tendou jerked and found a voice. "Now you will kill me! It is inevitable that you hate me. Hatred is all we know. Hatred is what connects humanity to one another."

His words echoed and Tendou was ready for the enraged reaction, but was met with the opposite.

The world calmed.

The scenery changed and Tendou was standing in a cluttered room with Naruto and his former associate, Uchiha Itachi.

Nothing moved, but voices vibrated in the space.

_What saved Sasuke?_

_You _saved_ him._

_Is there something… something good…_

_Good out of SLAUGHTER._

…_out of the slaughter I am responsible for?_

_No!_

_Nothing good comes from death, but…_

_Something worth killing for._

_There was something worth killing for._

_No one takes a life without a better future in mind._

_Whether it is to protect, or please, or save. We kill for a reason._

_Is is good?_

_ Good? Is it…?_

_ Am I still…?_

_ Good…?_

_Is it wrong to want…_

_ To want a better future?_

_ Is it wrong?_

_ Was I wrong?_

_ No._

_ If there is such a thing…_

"GET OUT OF MY HEAD!"

_…as peace… I will find it._

"GET OUT!"

_I will. Find it._

_I will not give up._

Somewhere in the abyss, Tendou found his way to Naruto and stabbed franticly into his body.

They separated and buckled on the earth.

Tendou was gone before Naruto got up.

The bones he created crumbled around him. The black on his body remained. The aftermath of the depression he felt. He stared at his hand and let his head rest in it, sobbing noiselessly.

Then he froze.

Naruto felt eyes on him and found himself in the terrified gape of Hinata.

He ran to her side, moving with inhuman speed and making her shudder.

As he reached for her, the chakra morphed. Ripples formed on his skin, going from black to red, then warm orange into yellow and white gold.

"_Hinata._" His voice reverberated in itself, a hum rather than a growl.

She could see his face. Brimming with scared tears, he sought her out.

"Naruto…!" She reached for him, confused that this might just be a dream. "Naruto, I—!" Even if it was a dream… she wanted to hold him, just once. "I f-feel like I've been chasing after you… Wanting to catch up… I just wanted…" He took up her arms and lifted her from the bloody puddle.

He was running, her hair whipping behind them.

"…I just wanted to talk to you. I wanted to be with you."

"_I'm the reason you're hurt. How can you say these things…?_"

She struggled to talk with the pain in her shoulder, but the happiness in her didn't let her stop. "You… you saved me! You changed me… you… I can't help it—"

Naruto gripped her a little more. She could feel something healing enter her wounds. She tangled her arms around his neck, holding on as tightly as she could.

"I can't help it anymore!" She laughed, teary with relief, "I love you!"

The wind stopped.

She was gazing into his face. Slowly he set her down, not once looking away from one another. His hand was warm on her face and she leaned into it. Her smile was glowing. The city was in sight. She caught the glint in the city and knew that was where Pain had run to.

"Go." She touched his hand. "It's going to be okay."

Naruto hesitated. He saw the pack on her side and searched its contents. Hinata didn't know what he was trying to find until a flare fired above them.

"_I'll be back… I promise._"

She only smiled and nodded.

He was gone in a yellow flash.

Hinata watched the flare arch, her vision diminishing.

"It's goin—…be okay."

She was alone, but she was not afraid.

Time passed without distinction. At some point she saw someone move across her field of vision. A cloak. It was a small figure, moving with uncomfortable slowness. Maybe it looked at her, but it didn't stop. It moved into the city, following Naruto's path.

Then there were voices saying her name.

The flare was sinking.

Hands checked her wounds, still calling her name.

She just smiled.

* * *

The sand whirling around Gaara and the Juubi seemed to throw them into another world together.

_ A desert, maybe. In a forest._

_As a man, a woman._

_In the sea. In creation. In loneliness. Drowning in water. Surrounded by death._

_Sealed in the mountains. Sealed in the bark, a tree._

_Voice in thunder. In the storm._

_Breathing in toxic air and breathing out life._

_Born from clay._

_ Not "monster". Not "demon"._

He pulled out of the flood and the Juubi was a bulge of black on the earth. Gaara was standing only feet away.

The feeling of power in him was gone and he was just a man.

He could hear cheers in the distance. But he knew it was not over.

He was wrong. He was wrong to think that losing the connection to the Akatsuki would weaken the beast.

The Akatsuki were its leash.

The lines of its form melted away and the black extended like a cloud, limitless and untraceable.

Black bones pieced together and decayed again. The lack of form had made it more dangerous than ever before. It was out of control.

Gaara lurched back. Looking around him to see if anyone had advanced.

He still had a mic on his neck.

He pressed it and spoke in a rush, "Get away from it! Get back!" The black haze was rising and dissipated, but not disappearing. "RUN!"

His voice seemed to draw its attention. It knew him. The invisible chakra reappeared and trailed after him as he tore away from it and headed far from the camps of the wounded. It pursued him. There were responses in his ear, but he didn't have time to listen. The wave of black was behind him, lapping at his heals.

Where was the power he had before! Why wouldn't the sand respond?

He would be overtaken.

In seconds.

He would be eaten by the chakra.

And no one would be left to protect his people.

The black wave hit him like a wall.

He shut his eyes when he saw his clothes start to deteriorate. His skin prickled

_What does pain feel like?_

He asked that when he was a child.

_What is this hurting in my chest? Why won't it go away? How can I be rid of it? What can heal me?_

_ Kill it. Kill what hurts. Be filled with hatred and death, long for strength. Kill those that hurt you. That put you through the hell called loneliness._

But that wasn't…

_That's not what I want._

What is that bond…?

_I want to become someone who is needed, instead of a weapon that is feared. I want to be acknowledged by others. That is the "medicine," isn't it? Rare and fragile "medicine" called love._

Inside of the black, Gaara was not met by cold death.

He opened his eyes and was wrapped in light.

The Shukaku. Defending him.

But not with evil or selfishness.

He felt from the demon surrounding him, the same need he felt as a child. The need to be heard. The need to be acknowledged. To have those burning wounds healed.

Somewhere inside he felt it. That "medicine."

Warm and never-ending.

It was his mother.

It was his uncle.

His sister.

His brother.

…His father.

This child inside the black—and the souls of all the lives it lived before—were crying out to him.

Resentment toward the world.

Hatred towards the parent.

Sadness in loneliness.

They were no different than him.

Yet.

Yet, they were nothing like him.

All of the pain he should feel, he didn't have in him anymore. It was tempting to bathe in it, but he didn't own that pain anymore.

It made him want to ask, "How long have you carried this?"

"Is it even who you are anymore?"

Is that what created "demons?"

How long has this child been wallowing in its past, unable to move on?

Gaara reached out toward the demon around him.

He invited it in.

He could heal it. He could.

For a moment, nothing happened.

The hole inside of him, where the Shukaku once slept, shifted.

Then everything moved.

The light around him disappeared inside and he became the center of the mass.

The black changed and spiraled into him.

Relieved. Endlessly contented.

The hole closed.

"_Sabaku no Ki_."

The ground came to life, and rocks turned to sediment and the sediment turned into sand. It stretched slowly, one tower of sand in the middle of the Juubi a hundred feet thick. Then it sprouted into two, then four, so on, becoming taller and larger. Evolving and growing inside of the demon and pulling it apart.

The beast couldn't move anymore.

Before he lost consciousness, Gaara heard a voice.

_"What a small, feeble child…"_

He touched his bare stomach, feeling not the weight of a demon, but the warmth of a mother.

_"…No matter what happens, I will always protect you! Gaara…!"_

He took a deep breath and leaned against the tree. With a smile on his face, he cried. The tree turned back into stone behind him and he fell into a peaceful sleep.

* * *

Naruto was running in the city when he felt three familiar shinobi coming. His chakra faded from his skin and he stopped on the top of a building to let them catch up.

Shikamaru was the first to land.

"Long time no see, Naruto."

He grinned, but didn't move.

Lee was next and as soon as his feet hit the ground, he was sobbing on Naruto's chest. "NARUTO! My comrade of youth! Why didn't you call on me for aid when you needed it—!"

"Lee, did you find Hinata?"

"Yes, just before we left we saw the flare. She's going to be fine."

Naruto let out a sigh. "Good—"

That reunion was broken with a fist in Naruto's jaw that landed him on his back.

Kakashi strode past Lee's shocked expression to lean over his pupil.

"You are an idiot, through and through. You'll take Sakura on a dangerous mission to battle the Akatsuki on your own, but you won't think to invite your old sensei?"

Naruto flinched when Kakashi moved, but when a strike didn't come he looked up. Kakashi held out his hand and Naruto took it with a grin. His teacher pulled him up.

"If you're here, does that mean you beat Pain?"

Naruto chuckled a little and scratched his head, "It's complicated."

Kakashi puffed a sigh, "We're headed to the tower."

"Oh…" Naruto glanced away, then back with a large grin on his face. "I think I'll go alone."

"Naruto…"

"We have some things to talk about. Pain and I…"

Shikamaru stepped in. "Naruto, that's exactly what he wants. You can't just go waltzing in and think you'll come out on top."

"He can't do anything to me. Not anymore."

"Naruto…!"

"Lee." Kakashi put a hand on his chest, holding him back. "I think… This isn't our fight anymore."

The three stood still.

Naruto smiled sadly at Kakashi. "Thanks. You can wait here for me."

"Yeah, right. I'm going back to the base. I'll see you there." He pointed in Naruto's face. "And you won't get off easy if you're even a little late."

Naruto nodded. "Right."

Lee still looked like he would follow, but Kakashi and Shikamaru, though still reluctant, had faith enough to stay behind. Kakashi lifted his headband and let his Sharingan wash away the genjutsu.

Naruto continued on his path beyond their sight and the tower appeared out of thin air.

He scaled the side in his human form and reached the top.

Inside was a frail looking man seated in the back of the room. The same black spires, piercings, were stuck in him like the rest. His hair was long and red. His eyes were the same spiraling purple. Blood dripped from the holes made by the spears and his mouth, open in a pant.

At his feet was the last Pain that ran. Tendou. The piercings in his body had rotted away and he was immobile. Hinata's jutsu had worked more fully than any had predicted.

"You saw my memories and I saw yours, Nagato. I know about you and your parents. Yahiko and Konan. And Jiraiya."

"Then you know my hatred for this world."

Naruto shook his head, "I saw your desire to protect it. I saw a desire to find peace."

"If you know what I want and see it as peace, then give me the Kyuubi inside of you."

"No. Jiraiya said the day will come when people truly understand one another. He had… faith in that. In you."

"It's too late for Jiraiya's idealism now. After seeing this reality, can you still believe in his words?"

Naruto took a step, "If you haven't given up, why should I?"

Nagato launched a spear into Naruto, shouting, "Stay back!"

"Were you waiting to be stopped? By Jiraiya? By anyone? Anyone who could defeat you could defend peace, is that what you thought?" Naruto clenched his fists. "If you didn't have some hope that peace could exist, would you have fought back so hard! There are people who expect me to bring peace to nations. But… I don't know how…! I don't know how to find peace…"

"As long as there is a shinobi world, there will never be true peace."

"Everyone seems to be saying that."

"There will _always _be those fueled by hatred—"

"Yes." He touched the spear, looking down at it and feeling the sadness in Nagato's chakra. "But there will also always be those who strive for peace. There are villages without any shinobi, or even the knowledge of shinobi, in existence. There are people who believe that "faith is better than any plan." And they live. They're happy with just living on _faith_. When I hear their stories… I can see life like that. I feel like I could live like that too. I don't know what I can do, but I will find my own peace. And maybe I can help others find a peace… And we can reach it without needing to kill one another. I guess, to start…" He pulled the spear out and let it clatter on the floor. "…I will not kill you, Nagato."

He took a step closer to Nagato.

"You and I were not his students for nothing. I have faith that you and I… were not put on this road for nothing."

"This road…!"

"We are not alone. We can take our pain and grow despite it. That is what humans are built to do. We are built to love and defeat the desire to hate. When we do, our loved ones will never die. Humans can change together. We can create a world of peace."

"You believe… they could never die? War brings hate and wounds to both sides… scars that never heal… Suffering that never ends… that is war. And yet, you say…?"

"You said it first."

Nagato strained his neck to hold his heavy head. He looked at Naruto and saw his past, his hopes were alive still. His face might have colored in shame.

"Nagato…" From the door of the tower entered Konan.

Naruto saw her stagger and rushed to hold her up. He moved her to Nagato.

Nagato was in awe. "Will you never give up?"

Naruto smiled as he sat her down. "No. Never. And neither will anyone else. As long as there is a person alive on this earth, people will continue to have faith in a better world and love for the one they're living in."

Nagato looked at the bodies of his two friends. Then at Naruto, who reminded him so strongly of his strange teacher. "You… it's like someone set this all up…"

He pulled his hands free of the device he sat in.

"Or maybe… This is the hand of the real God."

Naruto had no reason to fear as Nagato put his hands together.

"_Gedo Rinne Tensei no Jutsu_…"

There was a sudden tremor and the building swayed.

Naruto watched Nagato as his hair paled and his eyes began to lose their light. He hesitated, only because he didn't want to leave them.

Konan pulled Yahiko's body into her and hugged him.

"Nagato… Can we stop this now? Is it really over?" She reached up, finding the crook of his arm. He was still holding the jutsu in his hands.

"Yes. It's over."

"Madara… Madara is going to Konoha. He will… use Konoha and… Danzou will rise to power. They are… the same, Madara and Danzou. He will use Konoha as his new weapon of war…"

Nagato said nothing in response to Konan's betrayal.

"Why are you telling me this?" Another tremor rocked Naruto's footing and the building's foundations were ruined. He could feel the steady fall.

"Jiraiya saved us. He gave us home and family. We grew together and… we had a dream. Somewhere along the way, it became distorted. We believe this world to be foul and unable to be saved. But… maybe… maybe it's our eyes that are rotten and can no longer see reality."

Nagato coughed and wheezed. The jutsu was almost done. "Go, Uzumaki Naruto. Go back into the world. I will reset the playing field. And we will wait for the peace you have promised."

Naruto couldn't stay any longer.

He let the Kyuubi's chakra go over him and flew out of the tower.

"_GEDO_."

Nagato's hands dropped.

Konan reached up, taking the hand near her and held on as the floor fell through and they were swallowed by the aftershocks of his final jutsu.

"We can finally go home… Yahiko… Nagato?"

He didn't answer.

She opened the hand wrapped around Yahiko and one last butterfly drifted out to freedom in the wind.

"Yes. It's time to go home."

* * *

From the stronghold of those surviving, all witnessed two extraordinary things. From what remained of Ame's city, thousands of lights shot out. Like ceaseless fireworks. And the Juubi that had stopped moving reached the limits of its existence. It couldn't hold together anymore. In an enormous rush of wind, the chakra exploded out and dissimilated into nothing, leaving an enormous tree of stone.

The sickbeds occupied by those who were dead, creaked.

The eyes that should never have seen light again, opened.

From the crowds of hundreds and hundreds of soldiers, cries and cheers rose.

Every soul taken in battle was returned to them.

Naruto landed in the middle of the camp and was immediately swarmed by familiar faces.

"Naruto!"

His sensei's voice caught his attention.

"What's happened?"

Kakashi grabbed his student's shoulder, "They're all alive. Everyone."

Shikamaru gave him a friendly jab in the shoulder. "Good job."

Naruto shook his head in disbelief. "What happens now?" Out of the corner of his eye, he spied long raven hair. Kakashi let him pass and he went under the tent with the wounded and sleeping. He walked to her cot and supported himself on the edge with one hand, brushing her hair out of her face with the other. "Thank you, Hinata."

There was a small uproar outside the tent. A tall medic named Haruka was asking for the Kazekage. She had a message to deliver.

"Where is Gaara?" Naruto asked Kakashi, who had shadowed him to the tent.

Kakashi in turn, looked at Shikamaru who shook his head.

"He… Gaara-sama!" A man sitting at a radio was listening with all his might at the words coming from the other end. "His sister… says he is… No. He isn't dead. But he isn't waking like the rest are. He's at the tree. They're asking for stronger medics. They don't know what's wrong with him."

Naruto was running before Kakashi could say, "Let's go."

Naruto jumped and on the next foot, shot at the tree.

Naruto wasn't human anymore. He knew that. And somehow, he knew something was wrong with that tree—with Gaara—that only he could understand.

He saw the group around the Kazekage and Naruto bounded up to them.

"What is it?"

Temari was sitting by her brother who was wrapped in only a blanket. "We can't move him. He's… heavy. Impossibly… impossibly heavy. And he isn't responding to anything."

A medic was standing to the side baffled. "It's some sort of coma. We pricked his foot to get a response… The wound healed as soon as we made it."

Naruto took in a deep breath and his fear went away. He sighed loudly, "Everyone step back." Temari didn't know what to say, so Naruto gently removed her. "Please. Just for a minute."

They obeyed.

"He isn't dead."

Naruto put his hands on the sides of Gaara's face and delved into the mind now very similar to his own. He closed his eyes and let their heads touch.

The people watched, uncertain of what was happening. Time passed and neither moved. Temari wanted to interfere when Kakashi stopped her. He and a small troop of medics had just arrived.

There was a strange droning below and they all retreated a little.

A light sparked between Naruto and Gaara, growing steadily brighter. All were blinded.

When it shut off, both their eyes were open.

Naruto beamed at his friend and Temari dove between, hugging her brother.

"How does it feel to be a Jinchuuriki again?"

Gaara sat up on his own, patting his sister on the back and meeting Naruto's cheerful expression. "Not that bad."

"What happened to your clothes?"

Gaara shrugged. "Burned away by the chakra, I think." Without another word, a medic handed him a pair of pants and he pulled them on under the blanket.

"What happened to the Kyuubi?"

Naruto paused, surprised at how much Gaara must have seen. He also shrugged and ignored the inquiry. "The bijuu have been released. They will be reborn into the world anew."

"As humans?"

"Some will return to nature, some as humans… Some just as spirits among us. Some won't resurface until after centuries of sleep. Some… may choose to die. They've returned to what they were in the beginning: manifestations of life. They're everything that existence is capable of, contained in form, and colored by the world around them." Naruto pointed to Gaara. "The Shukaku has chosen to go back to you. You might have more than one demon's worth in there with you, but I don't think it'll be like before."

"No. I can tell. I can hear him now. He was a human once that lived beyond his lifetime and eventually became a spirit of the desert. He's found some kind of contentment in me. Naruto… What happened to you?"

Naruto chose not to answer. Those around were lost in their conversation. The only one to hear Gaara's concern for Naruto was Kakashi.

Gaara stood with the blanket around his shoulders. "Let's go back to the tents."

"Get out of the way! I have been entrusted with a message from Konoha!" The tall woman from before burst through. "Kazekage-sama! This is from the Hokage. A frog was sent to give it to you. It has instructions…"

Gaara took the scroll and unraveled it, reading it aloud.

"With the time that I have left, I just request that you pass along the following information enclosed. There is a simple summoning jutsu I have placed here." He peered at the symbol but read on, "Inside is a folder that contains the evil Konoha has brewed. It is an analysis of events that has led to the death of the Uchiha Clan, the formation of the Akatsuki, and the destruction of Konoha. Also, all the data you need on Uchiha Madara. I don't have time to tell you more."

He summoned the file and handed it to Shikamaru.

"Let's go back to the tents. Start going through this file at once."

They took no time in returning and the Kazekage resumed reading.

"Madara's next targets are the remaining Uchiha, Sasuke and Itachi, as well as the Uchiha stronghold not far from Konoha. I would go myself, but there are things I must do here. Please, please send any you can to stop Root from completing their mission. They are waiting for the informant, Operative Sai, to confirm contact with the targets. They are expected there, at the stronghold."

Kakashi and Naruto exchanged a shocked look.

"I want to speak to my friends and comrades, wherever they may be."

The shinobi from Konoha gathered closely, listening to their Hokage's message.

"I want you to read the file. But no matter what you feel about Konoha when you see this file, I want you to know that I am proud of my village still. It is because of the strong, brave people of this village that I have continued living until this point. It was because of you that I even became your Hokage. My triumphs have all been due to your dedication and fearlessness. Thank you. I wish I had more time."

He read the scratched out lines about Shizune, but not aloud. When he saw his name, he started speaking again.

"Please forgive the burden I am placing upon you. Along with the Uchiha's file, there are legal papers. They are for Konoha. I am leaving this village in your hands. Even if Madara does win this, the land will belong to you. It's just a plot of land. It's desolate and empty. You are already protecting the life of Fire Country. It is the people that need you. I need you to protect them."

Silence followed.

Then one voice, "What does this mean?"

"What's happened to Tsunade-sama?"

"Konoha is under attack! There are still people there!"

Naruto looked at Shikamaru, who was knee deep in the file. His face was pale.

"What is it. What does it say?"

"I… I can't believe this."

Naruto looked at the little folder in his friend's hands. He hesitated, but he took it from Shikamaru. "If Tsunade wanted us all to read it… then…" He put in a little chakra and dozens of copies appeared in the hands of those that had gathered.

He gave the original back to Shikamaru.

But Naruto didn't want to waste any more time. "Konan told me that Madara and Danzou are the same."

Shikamaru pressed his fist to his mouth and nodded furiously in confirmation.

"She said that he's going to use Konoha… I don't understand what she meant."

"Read it."

All of the secrets Tsunade had uncovered. The dots were connecting. Uchiha Obito had been the key to Madara's success. And Danzou… He had a complete shift in personality and goals after _one_ mission. Those closest to him didn't talk about the past he seemed to have completely detached from. There were stories and rumors about the trauma he must have faced. But that was far from the truth. The man Danzou was once had been rewritten, possessed and reborn as Madara. Taking control of Konoha was not Danzou's wish in the beginning, but after that _one_ mission, power suddenly became his objective. He solidified Root.

The immortality of Madara was clear in the photographs, if one doubted the story.

But neither Naruto or Kakashi picked up the file. They didn't need convincing. They both knew what they had to do.

"Naruto… I'm going. Go to Sai and Sasuke."

"You don't have to tell me twice."

His teacher smirked and pulled out a very strange looking kunai Naruto knew belonged to his father, the Fourth Hokage.

Kakashi was gone in an instant.

Naruto picked it up after it dropped.

The medic Haruka was speaking to someone about how the letter came to her, "Ino gave this to me. She left with the frog that delivered it."

Shikamaru quickly broke in, "Where is she?"

"I don't know… They said something about Konoha, maybe. The location pointed out in the letter… That's where she was headed."

Shikamaru snarled, slamming his fist on the table. "To Sai."

Naruto, who had been listening, put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "I'll make sure she's safe."

Gaara put down the file and stood with Naruto.

"When do we go to Konoha?"

Naruto was about to answer when shinobi appeared at the edge of the tents. People none recognized at first. People they had defeated in battle only days before.

The soldiers of Ame and Iwa had also returned, disoriented by their second chance at life.

Gaara answered his own question. "It seems like there are things that still need to be done here."

Naruto was about to take off when something pulsed inside of him. He grabbed his head and went down. All voices faded away, but one.

_"__When this place becomes your battleground, I—…"_

For one reason or another, Itachi's voice had become a very prominent one in his mind. Those memories seemed to be the most important, worth preserving.

"_I will present to you the Hachibi."_

Naruto knew his instructions.

"_Your real task will begin."_

The crow had delivered its message.

_ "__Thank you, Uzumaki Naruto, and goodbye."_

Gaara's voice, joined with others, came back to him. He pushed himself up and, to himself, muttered:

"Uchiha Itachi is dead."

Everyone went quiet.

He gave his last words to Gaara, "When you've finished here, use that. Do you know how?"

"I can guess."

"Good." Before embracing the Kyuubi's chakra… his chakra, he wondered if this was going to be the last time he saw his friends. "I'll see you there."

…

Hinata stirred when she heard the sound of paper fluttering. The specific alarm towards that sound seemed engrained.

She sat up and something tumbled from her chest into her lap.

A small crumpled butterfly.

As if its spell was spent, the paper lost its ability to hold shape and unfolded.

Inside was a name.

A cold shiver went over her whole body as she gasped.

She grabbed the paper and stole an emergency kit from the table beside her. She scrambled to remember where it happened, and ran to the spot where a hero had fallen.

The little butterfly was stained with what could be blood and the ink was smeared, but the name could not be mistaken.

Jiraiya.

* * *

Chapter finally completed. Oh, my GOODNESS! This has been one gigantic fight scene, which isn't that bad. But when blending the manga into it as well, it becomes closer to torture. (Yet it wouldn't be the same without a little blending, right?) Truth be told, I loved this chapter. I've been waiting to unfold that little freakin' butterfly ever since the arc started. And now, I can finally get back to my own plot line.

(About editing this fucker: I have a huge problem when I repeat words a lot in my writing. I literally go through the chapter about four times before I post it. The last two are usually spent replacing words I've used too much. Like "eye," "again," "ground," "up," and "fall." Or special words that are too easily recognized and phrases like "with no mercy," and "for a moment." I could kill myself with all the description I cut and the vocabulary I have to switch around. There are just some fight scenes—like this fucker—that use specific words a lot. And sometimes they're nearly impossible to replace without disrupting the flow. So FORGIVE ME.) Now… I just told you that I edit it like four times, that doesn't mean that fan fiction doesn't switch around letters or capitalize random shit just to fuck with me. I get so mad!

Rant complete.

…

Now **THIS BELOW IS IMPORTANT!**

Let me go ahead and clarify something for my own sanity.

_**There are three things HAPPENING AT ONCE****. **_The moment Tsunade sent the letter and Ino opened it, the action split into three. Tsunade's action continued in Konoha. Ino's action continued the moment she transported away, we just so happened to stay in Ame with Naruto. Does this make sense?

I hope that you didn't need me to tell you that! Hehe. I will try to make it completely obvious (but not overkill) for those that probably won't read this note.

Thanks for your patience! I will attempt to update at a reasonable pace. (I probably shouldn't make promises.)

…

Next Chapter – The One Without a Name

…

What I needed most was to love and to be loved, eager to be caught. Happily I wrapped those painful bonds around me.

_St. Augustine_

(BEST QUOTE FOR NARUTO EVER. Thank you, Augustine.)


	14. The One Without a Name

It's been three chapters without SasuSaku! What is wrong with me! Well, the wait is over. From here on, there won't be a single chapter without some SasuSaku development! _The end is nigh—!_

I couldn't help but laugh when I reread the last chapter… I was so ready to be done with the Naruto arc, it wasn't even funny. I know I totally rushed Tsuande's letter and also the end of the Naruto/Pain fight. But I was kind of getting sick of it. Also, if chapter 13 doesn't make sense to you I suggest you read the manga (chapters 419-449 specifically). There was no way I was going to completely rewrite Kishimoto's battle with Pain and Naruto… ;P

Also, while rereading certain chapters, I realized I left some stuff out between chapters 7 and 9 with Tsunade, so I went back and filled the gap. Woot! While reading, I noticed that I continually switch between mic and mike…. Oops. Haha.

* * *

Playlist: Barton Hollow (The Civil Wars), Tonight (Lykke Li), Hide & Seek (Autopilot Remix)(Imogen Heap), Cinema (Skrillex Remix)(Benny Benass), Zombie (The Cranberries), and Cherry Tree (The National).

* * *

What I needed most was to love and to be loved, eager to be caught. Happily I wrapped those painful bonds around me.

St. Augustine

* * *

…

The One Without a Name

…

* * *

The evening sun was warm on Tsuande's skin. The mountain was far and as she traveled further and further away from the lake she realized that there were hardly any shinobi left fighting.

She crossed a waterway and heard a sound from below.

It was just bad luck that Tsunade had uncovered a team hiding under the bridge.

She leapt into the air, avoiding their barrage of weapons.

When she came down, she slammed her fist into the wood and it exploded downwards onto them.

They slipped out and she was relieved to see only four, and they were not Root. She wasn't sure she would have been able to strike down her own villagers, even if they were serving Madara.

She tore into an abandoned structure and as soon as she was in the closed space, she had the advantage.

One at a time, they filed in. With super strength, she launched the first two into the walls around them.

The last two attacked together.

A thin slice of water missed her by inches and Tsunade hit the ground, caving in the basement none of them had been aware of. The shinobi escaped, leaving their other two teammates to die in the collapse. The building toppled and Tsunade fled.

The nin lost sight of her and she watched from the shadows as their attention was drawn to something by the small stream where the building landed.

They took off after it.

Tsunade welcomed the distraction and took a moment to glance briefly at what they were chasing.

She saw blond hair trailing in the wind like a flag headed for the nearby park.

She pitied the shinobi who had shared her hair color and continued on her path.

Tsunade was comforted to find the office of the Hokage had not been marred by fire. Tsunade was about to clamored up the side when she heard voices.

"You shouldn't be seen with me in this form. This body is Danzou now. If Root saw you, one of us would end up dead."

"You haven't been alone until now. I had no choice."

Tsunade stuck tightly to the wall and sucked in her breath. Standing across the street in shadows was Danzou speaking quietly to a lump in the rock.

"Has Pain purged the survivors of Fire Country from Ame?"

They clearly hadn't noticed her.

"N-no… Well…" Zetsu spoke with careful urgency. "Pain has released the Juubi."

Danzou jerked to attention. "_What did you say?_"

"He released the Juubi without gathering the other two..."

The air was dead for only a second before Danzou turned on Zetsu, ripping him from the rock and throwing him.

"_WHAT DID YOU SAY!_"

Zetsu rose quickly. He answered, "Pain wants to become the Juubi's Jinchuuriki himself. Uzumaki Naruto and the Kazekage have appeared and are fighting him."

Tsunade's ears were burning.

Naruto was in Rain.

Naruto was fighting the Akatsuki.

Danzou howled. "The fool! He knew I needed the Juubi. _He knew—!_ That body of his can't handle the beast anyway! HE KNEW THAT!" He looked up at the sky.

Tsunade was confused. Danzou squinted at the clouds until his eyes caught something. She quickly did the same and was shocked to see the dusk moon, which was usually dimly present at that time in the evening, burning a brighter red than the sunset.

Danzou continued to stare in shocked rage. "I'll kill him… I'll _KILL HIM_." He reeled on Zetsu. "Keep watch over Pain. If he succeeds in becoming the Jinchuuriki, tell me at once. I'll just have to rip it out of him along with the Rinnegan."

"Y-yes."

As soon as he was dismissed, Zetsu drained into the ground.

Tsunade was shaken by her own feelings. She thought she should feel frightened for Naruto, but her heart felt light. Was it because he was not alone there? Was it just because she knew for sure where he was and that he was alive?

Something about this knowledge was filling her up with confidence.

She smiled and relaxed her body.

She took in a deep breath and let her voice reverberated in the street.

"Talk about bad luck."

* * *

Ino couldn't feel anything as she spiraled through black smoke and blinding lights that turned red through her clamped eyes. She tried to control her body as she was pulled from all directions.

There was a strong suction and she was suddenly standing again. Nausea churned in her stomach while the rest of her strained to catch up to stillness.

At her feet was the small frog. He closed his gaping mouth.

"We're here."

Ino stood on the surface of a small stream going through the village. The red bridge that crossed over was in two pieces. The wood floated with her and the frog. Around her was her home, scattered in rubble—pieces of Konoha distorted by destruction. She swept up the frog from the ground and started running.

"W-wait! It's that way!"

Behind them, a structure folded and crashed.

Ino spotted a park ahead. As she ran into the cover of trees she looked closely at the corpses all over the street. Shinobi from Ame and Konoha littered the ground. At least the mysterious disappearance of the Rain nin had been solved.

The young trees had been spared from harm. Ino found the largest trunk in sight and climbed. From the height, she could see that Konoha was almost lifeless. There were still a few battles going on, but the village she once knew was burning now. Even the five faces of Konoha had been wiped away from their mountain.

All but the last.

Ino stared at the cracked face of Tsunade and had the sudden urge to search for her. She wanted answers. She wanted to know what was happening with Sakura and her teammates. And she wanted to know if Sai was really betraying them.

"Below!"

Ino snapped to her senses as two shinobi came at her.

One cast a water jutsu, slicing into the base of the tree. It began to fall. The other landed on Ino's branch. Both were surprised when it broke. The limbs had been dead for some time and no longer had the strength to hold visitors.

As they fell, the tree followed. The creaking and splintering of the tree was all around them. The shinobi on the ground threw a kunai at her but, before it could land, Ino was sucked into the frog's transportation jutsu again and into silence.

She was suddenly submerged.

Ino struggled to the surface and climbed out of water.

"What is _wrong_ with you! There were only two of them."

The frog was shivering at the grassy edge the lake. "I-I'm sorry. I panicked."

Ino looked around her. She recognized the place as where Tsunade ran off to hide from work. She had met with her teacher here many times with Sakura for lunch or just to visit. It seemed to be one of the few untainted things left in the village.

"We can't s-stay here."

She grabbed the frog again and ran towards the fortification of the village. "I know that!"

She cleared her head of Tsunade. If the Hokage needed saving, she would have asked for it in the letter. There wasn't enough time to stray.

She scaled the wall and leapt off the top with the little frog on her shoulder.

She didn't even need to search for the stronghold as she had imagined. It was being displayed in bright colors by two sinister chakras dwelling there. They made her uneasy, but she wouldn't be dissuaded. There was someone waiting for her there. And only _she_ could save him.

As she fell into the trees, four chakra signatures abruptly blared in her face. One of them was particularly biting.

She hit the ground, baffled.

"Of all the places to turn up…" Ino snarled under her breath.

That chakra was as familiar as her own.

Fury filled her as she breathed the name:

"_Sakura…!_"

* * *

Morning came too soon. Sakura opened her eyes to the camp. Karin was asleep by the extinguished fire and Suigetsu was lying beside her, legs propped as if he were only lounging.

Sakura leaned gently back, afraid that she was alone. She pressed against warmth and was moved slowly by his easy breathing. Sakura turned her head to look behind. Sasuke's dark eyes were open. He had covered the last shift after hers, allowing Suigetsu and Karin an uninterrupted rest.

"Good morning." Her voice cracked. Her throat was tired, probably from the heated conversation the night before.

Sasuke mocked her with a subtle smile. "Morning."

She turned away, hugging the blanket closer. She snuggled further between his legs, suddenly feeling very selfish. She was consumed by the thought that she was the only one enjoying their intimacy, and was hit with fresh embarrassment knowing that that was not the case.

Her buzzing doubts were interrupted by Sasuke as he leaned into her and adjusted. He wrapped his arms around her and lifted her body slightly so he could straighten one leg. He moved so she was turned more and he could see her reddened face.

His action was a quick reassurance that Sakura had not stayed the whole night with him by accident or through her desires alone.

He watched her face as if he had never spent the time to look earnestly before. His brows slowly knit together and he reached to touch her. Sakura's heart came to life when she saw something move in his gaze. At her startled expression, he woke up and the raw emotion in his eyes was subdued. He didn't look away and absently tousled her hair with that hand to correct what sleep apparently disturbed instead of whatever his impulses had first demanded.

She felt a rise of fear and sadness while looking into his face… the feeling of morality to their moments together. She reached an arm around his back and rubbed gently. She couldn't put it into words, but he seemed to understand her feelings and touched her cheek, stroking down to her chin.

For only an instant, that energy returned to his eyes and Sakura gripped his back.

He sighed and leaned toward her, hugging her into his shoulder. She desperately hugged back, hiding her aggrieved expression.

"We should wake them."

She nodded into him and broke away.

"I'll get Karin. _You_ can get Suigetsu."

He rolled his eyes and they stood. While Sakura quickly moved to the sleeping woman, Sasuke folded the blanket. He was hardly oblivious to her distress, but they both understood that this day could not be avoided. Even if it felt like they were spiraling downward, this was the ending he wanted. And he respected Sakura enough to know she wouldn't protest anymore.

Sakura shook Karin until she woke. "How are you feeling?" She helped her sit up.

Karin took a moment to assess. Then she grinned. "Pretty good, actually." She peered at Suigetsu and stood. "He's still asleep? Who covered the last shift?"

"Sasuke."

Karin glared, "He needed to rest. You should have let Suigetsu—"

Sasuke rolled Suigetsu over with his foot as he interrupted, "I wouldn't have slept either way."

Karin pouted at his response and moved to the fire, preparing to scatter it.

Sakura stopped her, "Might as well not bother. We'll be making ourselves known soon anyway."

Karin raised a brow, "What?"

"There are at least four teams of Root in the forest. They came in the early hours. None of them have tried to enter the stronghold yet."

Suigetsu woke up to that. "How can you tell?"

Sakura scoffed, "ANBU and Root have more in common than you'd think. At the very least, I'm capable of sniffing out my own kind."

"And Itachi hasn't run off? What is he thinking?

Sakura took in a deep breath, "His chakra signature is practically screaming, 'here I am!' Every shinobi in the _nation_ can probably see him. And my guess is… he wants the distraction."

"A distraction? Doesn't he want us to join in the fun?"

Sasuke quietly objected, "I wouldn't allow you to interfere anyway. Itachi will fight me and me alone."

Suigetsu snickered through his teeth, "So we're about to willingly walk into a death trap." He sat up, rubbing the dirt off his shirt. "While Sasuke is fighting one on one, we'll be taking on an _army_."

Sakura gave a vicious smile. "That's about right."

Sasuke chuckled discretely at her enthusiasm.

"But I don't think the odds are completely against us. I can tell there's something going on amongst the teams. There's a small team of three close to us, on the opposite side of all the rest."

"What's important about that?"

"The solo team isn't making itself useful to the others. The stronghold is at the bottom of a slight downhill. The only purpose of such a small team would be to catch stragglers trying to escape. But they're closer to the stronghold than anyone else. If anything, they're deliberately keeping out of the predicted line of fire." Sakura searched in the stronghold's direction. "What's more, there's another Akatsuki."

Karin nodded, "I was waiting for you to bring him up. It's Kisame. No doubt about it."

Suigetsu leapt up, "Really! Lucky me!"

Karin was quick to curb is excitement. "You better let that guy slaughter as many Root as possible before even _thinking _about taking him on. We have to defend Sasuke-kun until he kills Uchiha Itachi and I don't want to get stuck teaming up with this wench against twenty of those guys just so you can settle your stupid one-sided rivalry!"

He cackled. "Fine, fine! But if he smokes me out first, you can't blame me!"

She huffed, "You're hopeless."

"Suigetsu, she's right. I'd rather we stick together as long as possible. We'll make a straight shot for Itachi. Most likely, Kisame won't let Root interfere with Sasuke. So, the closer we are to Itachi the safer we'll be."

Suigetsu grabbed his monstrous blade and looked around eagerly. It quickly turned to impatience. "What are you all standing around for?"

Sakura laughed weakly and they prepared in silence. Karin gathered her things and Suigetsu followed her. She griped and swatted off his zeal half-heartedly. Sasuke turned his eyes away and allowed them to play in the last moments of calm.

Sakura was entirely out of weaponry. Her fists would be enough to start with. She could scavenge weapons and other essentials off of enemies as she went.

She looked as she opened and closed her fists, gaining faith in her strength again. Wasn't that her best quality? Fighting hand to hand, face to face always suited her best. Where she lost that along the way, she couldn't say.

She was straightforward and persistent, and easy to read… That's what she was so often told. She was constantly baring her heart on her sleeve. And that's what it felt like. She felt bare, exposed, and at a loss. She had always been vulnerable to her emotions and to the impact of others much like her hands. Bones covered by muscle, covered by skin. Easily cut and easily broken.

Sasuke walked up to her and took one of those hands.

"Let's go."

She smiled and he led her on.

Easily held and easily thrilled. Her hands and her heart. She knew he could see it. And that made her feel strong. She was not going unnoticed. After so much time… after growing as children, after parting with bitterness and pain, after reuniting under an unfortunate star, and after discovering what it meant to truly believe in him… and love him… With her bare hands, she had reached him.

The four walked calmly into the enemy's range of vision. They unmasked their chakra and suddenly things were alive in the forest.

"It's true. They were waiting for you."

Sasuke nodded silently.

They let go and the four dove into the settlement.

Karin and Suigetsu flanked Sasuke and Sakura. As soon as they set foot there, the Root were after them. Sakura watched Kisame's chakra run to meet the wave. The team of three closest to them didn't move. That was more curious than anything else.

They ran with unyielding focus. They leapt over structures, not allowing any distance between them to disrupt their formation.

They reached an open street and Karin called out. Root had finally caught up.

"Here they come!"

Suigetsu swung at the first Root to reach them. The shinobi pulled out a kunai but saw the strength behind Suigetsu's strike and chose to dodge. The moment the soldier doubted Suigetsu's ability to wield the weapon, it was over. He whirled the sword around mid-swing and came down on the collar, cutting halfway into the torso. He flung the body off the blade and batted at the next two.

One went over and the other stooped under.

Sasuke spotted one in the possession of a katana and attacked below.

Sakura took the hint and pushed off his back to go at the other coming high.

Suigetsu let the momentum of his sword take him out of their way.

Sakura was already surprised at how well the four of them worked together. With Karin as the medic for their formation, she felt freed of obligation. This was probably the first time she was able to really let loose and leave the healing to someone else. Her fists lit up with blue chakra.

The shinobi dodging Suigetsu's blade had pulled out two kunai, preparing to fight with the large weapon and was unprepared for Sakura. He flicked one at her and she avoided it, the second he jabbed at her shoulder. She knocked his forearm, disrupting his aim and breaking the bone. Then she used the heel of her palm to send him flying.

Sakura landed behind Suigetsu while he sprinted to protect Karin from an onslaught of shuriken coming from a distance. Two more were moving on the ground, but Suigetsu seemed more than able.

Sakura looked back and Sasuke was standing over an unconscious body and in the custody of a new, sleek katana.

"Look out!"

Sakura whipped around as a fire jutsu enveloped her.

She heard Sasuke calling out his jutsu and she hurriedly pushed through the blaze and ran out of the way.

"_Goukakyuu no Jutsu__!_"

Sasuke's fire overtook it quickly and the soldier staggered, blinded by the flames. Sakura curved her run and Sasuke hastily cut off the fire. She attacked her enemy from the side. She jerked his broken arm, pulling him in as she hooked his jaw. He hit the ground hard. This time he wouldn't spring up again. Sakura took seconds to slap the man's weapon pack open and restock.

She stripped the kunai pack off the nin's thigh and noted the explosive tags and smoke bombs inside. She tossed a coil of wire at Sasuke and one of the individual packets of explosive tags. He turned down her attempt to share kunai. A sword was enough, it seemed.

Meanwhile, two were ganging up on Suigetsu, both with large summoned weapons of their own. They were a good pair—movements perfectly in sync.

Karin grabbed Suigetsu and erased their chakra. She flung a smoke bomb and the enemy pair panicked in the dark. They didn't sense Suigetsu's sword before it decapitated one. The second rolled out of the smoke. He hurled a chained sickle into the cloud as he used a wind jutsu to clear the air.

Karin was ducked down and Suigetsu lifted his sword out of the way. He lunged forward and the sickle went through his transparent body. Suigetsu brought down the hilt to shatter the man's head.

Sasuke ran to meet them with Sakura following behind, grabbing Karin's arm and yanking her up.

The four slipped into the rows of houses for cover.

Karin gathered herself and started seeking out the enemy. Since it was no longer necessary to protect their chakra signatures, Karin could focus on figuring out the forces they were up against.

"Root is traveling in large groups. It looks like there are four teams of six designated for us, then there's the team of three west of us and a group of five to the north with their own agenda. That group just now was most likely the weakest, sent to figure out our dynamic. It won't be so easy next round. I know we wanted to find Itachi straight out, but this is going to be harder than I thought." Karin was on her game. Sakura admired her focus. She could see why Karin was so handy. Her loyalty and frankness would be useful for strategically cutting losses in dire situations. Now Karin was very somber, contemplating their situation with grave expression, "We should lay low. Their main advantage is organization. If we stay on a straight path, they will kill us all. Anything predictable is out of the question."

Suigetsu couldn't help but throw a snarky comment at Sakura, "That's great, considering that was our main tactic."

Karin continued unfazed, "Their numbers are their strength because of meticulous strategy. But we can turn that around. They are unfamiliar with one another; that is obvious. These teams have been formed out of pairs and trios thrown together haphazardly. If we scramble their teams, we can gain the advantage."

As they moved through the maze of buildings with stealth, something unexpected happened.

Itachi's chakra, the beacon they were following, shut off entirely.

They all stopped, turning to Karin as she skidded to a halt. She was dumbfounded.

"I can't find him."

Suigetsu groaned. "You've got to be kidding me."

Sakura answered sharply, "He's still here, even I can tell that much. He's probably thinking the same as Karin. Root was more prepared than we all anticipated. If he keeps his presence out in the open like that, he's bound to be cornered." She looked at Sasuke apologetically.

"_Be quiet…!_" Karin hissed as she grabbed Suigetsu and Sakura, pulling them into shadow.

They heard movement nearby and Karin closed off their chakras under a protective veil.

Six shinobi passed, headed where the other team had been beaten.

There was silence, but Karin still held them still. She looked confused.

"There's something else here. I can't—"

Sakura thought back and counted the opponents they had defeated. They had missed one.

She and Karin noticed their tracker at the same time and there was a light whistling in the air. A signal.

Sakura wheeled around and punched the building next to them. It exploded in a plume of dust.

Sasuke and Suigetsu pulled out their weapons as seven shinobi came at them out of the dust.

Before they could engage, Karin commanded, "RUN."

They didn't hesitate and Suigetsu threw another smoke bomb and Sasuke dealt a handful of explosive tags behind them as they fled.

Karin led them in a dizzy path through the streets, gradually moving away from their attackers.

She was unusually quiet for a time and shocked them all when she finally spoke.

"Sasuke-kun, you go ahead."

Sakura and Suigetsu were taken aback.

"Running with all four of us is stupid. We're just _asking_ for them to gang up on us."

"Karin, separating won't make it better."

"It doesn't matter at this point!"

"Karin!"

Karin abruptly stopped and Sakura ran into her.

"Sakura!" Karin imitated her harshly. "You saw where Itachi was. Go straight there first. There's no fool alive who would stick around in one spot after starting a ruckus like this, but it's a place to start." Karin walked away from Sakura, staring at her expectantly. When Sakura continued to stand there, she shouted, "Go already!"

Suigetsu slid to her side. He looked at the clear separation that had formed and cracked a smile. "She's right. We'll stir up some trouble. Go find Itachi."

Sakura stared at Karin, amazed.

"One medic per pair." She grinned wryly. "It was always meant to be this way, right?"

Sakura started to speak when Sasuke grabbed her arm.

"Taking Kisame lightly will get you killed. Don't fool around." He watched Suigetsu's face, making sure he took his advice seriously. Suigetsu nodded and Sasuke smirked. He pulled Sakura with him after saying. "Thank you, Karin."

Suigetsu and Karin broke from them and ran down a nameless street. Sasuke and Sakura took their path to the ghost of Itachi's chakra.

Sakura trailed Sasuke, struggling to keep up with him. She saw his subtle sign of uneasiness and sped up to him.

He glanced at her, then ahead again. "Stay close to me."

* * *

Sai sat soundlessly on fifth floor of one of the tallest remaining structures, scribbling on scroll after scroll, meticulously preparing for the coming battle. The windows had glass in them once, but clearly an explosion had gone off inside because one wall had been blown out and there was a gaping hole where one window was meant to be.

Sai noticed the first team of Root the night before. He had spread ink animal clones throughout the forest surrounding the stronghold long before. The team had set up camp miles off at first, but during the night they mysteriously split. Two shinobi returned to Konoha, as best he could tell, and the other three remained. Those three had moved much closer and were now sitting tight at the edge to the west. Then when morning came, there were three more teams gathered northeast of him, a quarter of a mile out.

He knew settlement inside and out. He had been waiting for days, unsure of its significance until two particular Akatsuki fought against each other the night before. Sai was aware of Kisame's entrance to the area, but was startled to discover that Itachi had been there with him all along. The shinobi must have been masking his chakra perfectly for days. He probably watched Sai come in and set up from only a few blocks away. Why _Uchiha Itachi_ chose to leave an operative of the village Itachi despised undisturbed was beyond him. Overall, Sai's presence seemed too unimportant to be noted by either Akatsuki.

It was comforting to know that other Root had gathered, probably under Danzou's order. Cornering Sasuke would be almost impossible if he had to get past two Akatsuki on his own on top of everything else. Sasuke's objective was and would always be his brother. All Sai had to do was keep an eye on Itachi until Sasuke made himself known. Sai hoped silently that his allies were all well informed. He couldn't afford to give up his position to communicate, even with the three man cell that was so close.

He checked his scrolls and looked at how much ink he had left. He had plenty of ink sticks, but regrettably, there was no water close enough to pull from and it hadn't rained for days. What he had was just enough to overpower his target and defeat him.

As if beckoned, four shinobi appeared south of the stronghold and strode past his ink creations.

In moments, their chakra signatures were clear.

Sai rose.

Every squad was scrambling, flying to the settlement at once.

Sasuke had finally reared his head.

Sai strode up to the opening, leaning on the broken concrete.

He watched Root swarm the settlement like ants.

The first team approached was stamped out in moments, all but one. That was to be expected. The mercilessness of Danzou's strategy never fazed him in the past, but something was exceptionally brutal about their actions. The actions of the teams felt a little crude, like they had crossed some unnamed boundary that likened them more to savage, desperate animals than to the humans they once were.

The surviving member led the other squad to where Sasuke and his group were trying to hide.

A cloud of smoke suddenly rose and the four vanished from his sight.

The impulse to leap from the building struck him like a painful spasm. He was afraid to lose his target so early in the game.

He released an ink bird and jumped onto it.

As soon as he was in the open two shinobi were falling onto him from the roof.

A very familiar voice called, "_Dai Toppa!_"

Sai's bird was dispelled and he was flung into the building by a great wind.

The wind kept him pressed there and someone added, "_Endan._"

Fire ignited the air and swallowed him.

He dropped, not caring about a harmless landing but more about being burned alive.

He hit the ground and felt pain shoot up his leg. The bone cracked.

The fire cut out and the nameless voice grabbed his throat.

"_Fuuin._"

Sai attempted to counter the chokehold, but felt his limbs stiffening until he couldn't move. He looked out of the corner of his eye and saw a familiar black dotted seal curling around his limbs, much like the one on his tongue preventing him from betraying Danzou.

He focused on the person attacking him and was shocked to see an old comrade.

"Taii?"

The shinobi's eyes were dead. "Hello, Sai."

"You can't hold him like that for long. Just kill him."

Sai blanched. He looked at the other four that landed around their apparent leader.

He knew them—if not by name, by their faces. They were all a part of Root.

"What is the meaning of this! What are you doing?"

"You are to be executed for treason."

The breath knocked out of him, Sai could say nothing.

Taii continued emotionlessly. "Your existence is a threat to the safety of our village and your objective to harm Uchiha Sasuke cannot be tolerated."

He tugged away from the seal. "What are you talking about! Uchiha Sasuke is a dangerous missing-nin…! You know that. Danzou sent me to—"

"Don't bring Danzou-sama into it. Uchiha Sasuke is to be captured alive and brought to Konoha. Any obstacle that gets in our way is to be erased. It's as simple as that."

"This is crazy! Release me. I'm on your side!"

"Not anymore."

"Taii! What is the matter with you! Danzou sent me here to kill Sasuke. He has been running wild with intel about Konoha for far too long! He is a loose end that Konoha has been too cowardly to tie up! It's our job as Root…!" Taii was unresponsive. "This was… my mission… from Danzou."

Something clicked for Sai. The look in this man's eyes. The reluctant stares of those around. Taii was spouting lies. Lies. Taii knew it. They all knew it. So… Why?

"Taii. I don't understand. What have I done?"

His captor showed a glimmer of pity and said, "The council is dead, Sai. Only those that can be trusted will remain to protect the new ruler of Fire Country. Regardless of what good you have done in the past… _You_ are the loose end now."

For only a moment, the grip of Taii's jutsu weakened and Sai grabbed the blade on his back. He sliced off the hand holding his neck and kicked into Taii's chest. He threw a smoke bomb.

Curses rose from their audience, shouting at Taii for his blunder.

Sai summoned another bird and shot straight into the sky.

"_Jouro Senbon!_"

A swarm of needles came from the cloud and followed Sai.

He dropped down between buildings, flying in and out of streets to avoid the barrage. Just behind he could see Taii—who was frantically wrapping his now handless wrist—and another following. There was one on the rooftop to his left with his fingers in a seal, clearly controlling to pursuing senbon.

He knit his fingers together as well and created a brief illusion to give him just enough time to substitute with a clone and flip behind them. The weak genjutsu dispelled and the clone slowed enough for the needles to catch up and kill the substitution. The team stopped in their tracks.

Within three seconds of their panic, Sai attacked. He ripped out a prepared scroll and shouted:

"_Choujuu Giga!_"

Eight large beasts erupted from the page and rampaged at them. Sai turned and ran the other way, letting his creations distract the enemy.

He couldn't waste his time or his creations on them anymore.

He was beginning to comprehend that his chances of survival had been cut down to almost nothing, seeing that every person in the settlement wanted him dead.

He almost laughed as the fearful tension bubbled up in his stomach.

He ran with all his strength. If he wanted to defeat Sasuke he couldn't spend any chakra. He couldn't waste weapons. He couldn't use his ink. Not until it was Sasuke standing there before him. Not until then.

He heard them behind him and was relieved to find he had cut one from their team. Four against one. But they caught up as he predicted.

The unfortunate fact of the matter was he still had no plan.

Was he about to be slaughtered by his own kind? Or would he use all he had to save his life and have nothing left for his real opponent.

They were upon him.

Two kunai stuck him in the back. They were small and caused no pain, but suddenly his body couldn't function properly. He could feel chakra from someone invading him, slowing his movements.

"_Doku Kiri!_"

A smog loomed over him and he was trapped, near motionless, in poison gas.

He held his breath, struggling to escape. It felt like he was dragging his legs through thick mud.

He could hear shuffling behind him. The shinobi were waiting for the sound of his body hitting the floor.

Sai reached behind his back and struggled to grab the kunai. He realized now that they had been thrown strategically, in a particularly difficult-to-reach spot. He knocked one with his fingers and it dropped. The paralysis lessened and he easily swatted the other.

He was free, but his breath had run out. He was forced to gasp. If only the body listened to the brain as it explained how breathing was more dangerous than not. All the same, the smoke flooded in.

Sai choked and the waiting feet got anxious.

A plan struck him and he allowed his body to crumple loudly.

"_Dai Toppa._"

The wind dispersed the cloud and shinobi were about to grab him when he launched out of reach.

Running again, he was choking on the painful toxin.

They were already catching up.

Easily.

He knew how pathetic he looked in their eyes. He nearly gave in and stopped.

Then a body from in front of him flew past.

He paused for a moment, just enough, to see yet another familiar face.

A young shinobi named Hi.

He gave Sai only a few brief, astounding words in passing.

"Keep running, Sai. I've got you covered."

Sai did as he was told.

And he didn't look back.

The team of four stopped in their tracks.

Hi stood in their path with his hands in an immediate seal.

"_Magen: Karyuu Endan!_"

They were enveloped in a great fire that burned with unimaginable intensity.

Taii watched his skin peeling and roared in horror. The blood melted from him and he fell to his knees.

He looked around him as two of his companions collapsed. Had they passed out from the pain?

Taii looked at his last hand. He could see the tendons and muscle shriveling around the bone and he resisted the desire to vomit. He hit the ground with a fist and closed his eyes.

The ground was cold.

He heard the screams of his other teammates, but he couldn't seem to focus on them.

The ground was cold.

He opened his eyes again and, against his better judgment, opened and closed his hand. He knew it would shatter the charcoal bones and destroy the only hand he had left.

But it didn't happen.

He could feel his hand still.

And it didn't hurt him.

His skin felt like it was crawling, but not from flames… From the churning of disturbed chakra.

He put his crumbling fingers into a seal.

"KAI!"

The illusion dispersed.

He looked around him at the calm street. Two were crumpled in puddles of blood and the last of his team was being lifted by her shirt by Hi, with a bloodied kunai.

He slit her throat and dropped her.

Her clouded eyes watched the world of the illusion in horror as she bled out.

Taii returned to gripping his wrist. When the illusion began, he stopped applying pressure and he was covered in his own blood. With one hand he could do some jutsu, but not enough to defeat Hi. He was at the mercy of his enemy.

Hi moved judiciously, keeping narrow eyes on his wounded prey.

"I heard everything."

Taii glared, "What difference does that make? You'll believe what you want to believe."

Hi grinned carelessly, "Yes! That's true. But you make it sound like I'm in the wrong."

"You are, you crazy fool."

Hi laughed, "Says the man who spouted lie after lie to a former comrade. How did that feel, Taii? How did feel to listen to your own voice as you condemned an innocent man."

Taii hissed violently, "You have nothing to prove it—"

"I don't need it." Hi suddenly looked sad. "I don't need proof anymore."

His heart pounded loudly in his ears. Taii was instinctively afraid of death.

Then his thoughts went to his two beautiful girls and his wife. Maybe they would stay safe while the world fell apart, safer than they were while he was still alive. The charade of terror faded and he realized that he was not afraid of death… but welcoming to it. Through his death, his family would be free of Root and war.

_He_ would finally be free.

He smiled grievously as he said, "I'm sorry. I can't change Sai's fate. And neither can you. I… I can't change your fate. You've made a choice. We all made a choice at one time that brought us here. We abandoned a future along the way that might have brought us happiness. We surrendered our names and our lives to the wrong people… the wrong people. I've ruined my life. I like to think I didn't know this was the way my life would end. I like to think I didn't know…"

"Taii, you _didn't_ know—"

Taii struggled to stand and invited Hi to attack.

"I want to die, Hi. I want you to kill me."

Hi did not move.

"I have nothing left. I have no reason to keep living. I should have died long ago."

Hi's blank face slowly turned to an angry frown, eyebrows pushed furiously together.

"Don't you dare say that—!"

He advanced, readying a fist for Taii, when the silent street flared up once again. Three shinobi landed around Hi and he made a speedy retreat. They followed. A fourth and fifth landed beside Taii, taking him by his uninjured arm and holding him up. He seemed unable to stay standing anymore.

While one checked him over, the other spoke.

"Was that one of your former team members?"

Taii was frozen, mouth gaping. His last opportunity had slipped away and he finally grasped that he was trapped in a world that had turned on him with poison teeth. He would never survive. If his body could not die, his soul surely would.

The shinobi that was bandaging the bleeding stub paused and looked at him, "Taii?"

He snapped to life, "Yes. Yes. He was one of my…" He trailed off, lost in thought.

"Alright. You need proper treatment. Keep tabs on the battles sites and avoid enemy contact. Alert us when you are clear of the settlement."

He numbly responded, "I understand."

The soldier dragged him a few feet before Taii's body went on autopilot. He ran silently as he was trained. Once his escort knew he was alright, they split. Taii continued on alone and it wasn't long until he was summoned on the radio.

"We've spotted a large man, over six feet—"

Taii blurted into the mic, "That's Retsu."

The soldier muttered confirmation of engagement.

Confirmed engagement.

"Where?"

There was no response.

"Where are you?"

No response.

"Where!

He turned and started running back.

"Where is Retsu?"

Shouting into the mic as he searched for the battle.

"Where is he!"

Calling.

"Retsu!"

The battle practically landed on his lap as Taii turned a corner. It appeared that Hi, Yoko, and Retsu were moving separately from each other. Their goal was unknown.

There were only two shinobi pursuing.

Maybe Retsu had met up with Hi and split the team Taii had seen. Maybe he had killed the others.

"RESTU!"

The ground turned to mud under them. Quicksand. Sucking downward.

Taii was grabbed from behind in the flurry of kunai and jutsu. He was pulled away from the danger and stared into his old friend's face.

"What are you doing, Daisuke!"

Retsu flicked a kunai behind him. It was evident he had attached a chakra enhanced explosive tag to the weapon considering the effect it had. Shinobi were blown away from the waves of chakra bonded to the point of impact.

They ran together.

Shouts came from behind, ordering Taii to kill Retsu.

He answered their orders with slurred seals completed by his remaining hand.

"_Genwaku Toppa!_"

Like the other wind attack, one enemy was blown away in a burst.

One shinobi evaded and landed on a roof. As Taii and Restu gained distance, Taii watched the shinobi turn with a severe glare directed at him.

It seemed that Taii had one last choice to make in sealing his fate.

The retaliation came faster and stronger than Taii and Retsu realized.

Another two made their appearance. Had they been planning an ambush from the beginning?

Retsu punched the ground and sent chunks of debris flying into the air. His chakra spread like a shield, slowing the slabs of concrete and he redirected them at each target in seconds. They thought they were in the clear. But Taii was too slow to help his friend as a shinobi using a cloaking jutsu appeared behind them both, stabbing Retsu up under his ribs and into his left lung.

"_Magen: Kusatta Ki!_"

All movement stopped and for a moment Taii was absorbed into another illusion. A tree slithered from the ground and he watched it coil around him. The rotten branches slid under his skin, ripping through everything in its path to the bones they wished to choke.

The illusion ended quickly and Taii gasped.

Hi was beside him, gently pulling the blade from Retsu.

"Hold him!"

Taii grabbed Retsu and lowered him to the ground as Hi ran to slaughter those stilled captivated by the illusion. Hi's ability to multitask while generating genjutsu was his strength, but the illusions were so grand and easily recognizable that they were a one shot deal. Once you saw an illusion of his, you could easily recognize them a second time. But none survived the first strike, with very little exception.

All the same… When fighting amongst the skill level and precision of Root or ANBU, it required only a few moves to determine victory or death for a soldier.

"Retsu."

The man splattered blood on his lip as he coughed, "Good to have you back, Daisuke."

"I'm so sorry."

"Hi…?"

The shinobi returned, covered in even more blood. His white hair was also tainted in the raw filth. "I'm here, Retsu."

"Take Daisuke and get out of here."

"What about Yoko?"

"She knows what she wants."

Hi nodded and started to pull Taii from the ground.

Taii didn't let go of his friend, "I'm not leaving you. We have to get you help."

Retsu shook his head. "No one is going to help me. Every medic out there would kill me on sight. You too. You're lucky you waited to change color after they had already healed you." He coughed more, laughing. "I'm glad I got to you in time."

"Retsu…"

The large man grabbed Taii by his shoulder, holding him still and gaining his undivided attention.

"Listen to me now, Daisuke, because I don't have time to waste anymore." He brought his old friend closer. "Konoha is gone. Root is finished. But _you_ don't have to die here. Go to Suna—to your family. You… have a future."Retsu smiled. "You are h-human. So live."

Hi tore him away and they vanished from the settlement in minutes.

Daisuke was carried by his feet and, as soon as they were free of their enemies, he pressed his palm into his face and wept.

Free.

* * *

Sasuke ran almost blindly. The image of Itachi's chakra was burned into his Sharingan and all other need for sight was gone. How long had it been since he had seen the outline of his brother in light? How long had it been since they had gotten a glimpse rather than just an echo of his presence?

The Sharingan was pulsing, and not from lack of chakra. Something was beginning and he could feel it. There was something changing in his eyes and he somehow knew that the change couldn't be born until…

…Until Itachi was dead at his feet.

Other things were stirring in him. Something dark in the corner of his mind was alive, writhing with hate. Hate. Hate. Compelling and consuming.

But Sasuke's eyes were free of _that_ feeling. His feet were free of weighty emotion. He was just running. Running and seeing only light.

Someone was pulling him up.

Sakura.

She was beside him and her chakra was beaming.

The world, black with the Sharingan, showed every life to him—plain as day. And hers was the brightest. The light touched his fingertips, giving him warmth even though she was feet ahead of him.

He reached, forgetting where he was going—forgetting what he was running for.

Sakura snapped to his eyes when he touched her.

Sakura turned pale and grabbed his forearm.

She stopped him and was suddenly holding him before his knees hit the ground.

"Sasuke! What's wrong?"

He lost himself in the sunlit embrace and leaned into her. The white was alive, feeding into itself. Warm, dancing light. It absorbed him and everything else fell away. There was no hurt or fear in this new world.

He could watch it for a lifetime.

Shadows of reality were growing great around them. He became afraid to pull away. They might swallow him if he did. They might swallow her.

Her voice reached him again. "Sasuke!"

He stood slowly and looked down at her confused face. He reached and she took his hand. He smiled to himself and sighed. He pulled her up.

"I'm sorry. Let's go."

He wasn't sure what had come over him exactly, but he was certain that the Sharingan had shown him something of a premonition. A world enveloped in white. Without pain.

He released her and they ran faster than before, Sasuke leading the uncertain kunoichi behind him. They were almost to Itachi. Sasuke was recognizing more and more of the area. He had gone down this street as a child, with Itachi close beside him.

The memory allowed him to focus on the battle before them once more. That unexpected pause might have given their enemies time to find them. It had, but not as Sasuke was anticipating. One shinobi was coming.

Just one.

A giant beast fell upon them and Sakura punched through in an instant.

Black splatters hit the ground all around them and they split.

Sakura looked around frantically, realizing almost immediately the identity of their attacker.

Born from the puddles, familiar ink creatures pounced on Sasuke.

Sakura unleashed a half a dozen kunai and ran to Sasuke's side.

His hands were glowing with dangerous chakra and panic struck her.

Not for Sasuke, but for—

"I finally found you."

Sakura wheeled to see him, at the same time yelling, "Sai—!"

She threw another kunai and he dodged just as Sasuke's lightening senbon hit where he had been.

Sai jumped off the building's roof and landed on a large bird, freshly created from the fluttering scroll he held.

He whirled down at them, flashing the ink covered paper at them. A hoard of monsters erupted from it and landed all around them.

"Sai, STOP! This is Sasuke!"

Sakura punched through another few of his ink lions and stared into the sky for him. Her limbs were soaked with ink.

"I know who he is, Sakura." Sai was circling above.

Sasuke had his hands in a seal ready for another long distance shot at Sai. Sakura ran to him and grabbed the seal, forcing him to cut the electricity before it hurt her.

"Wait." She ordered Sasuke quickly before straining to see Sai's expression in the rising sun. She begged, "Stop your attack!"

"Sakura, he's not going to listen to you."

Suddenly the ink on her skin and the puddles came alive again. Hundreds of snakes coiled around her limbs, yanking her to the ground.

"Sai!"

She sloshed through the ink, trying to break free as Sasuke walked away from her.

"I don't know you personally, _Sai_, but I know killing intent when I see it. I can also see that your mind is weakening. You're chakra gives you away."

"Shut up."

Sasuke shrugged and stood still, waiting for the next move.

Sai touched his remaining scrolls, forming a strategy. Mumbling to himself, all the while glancing between the immobilized Sakura and Sasuke. He probably didn't have much time before Root would catch wind of their fight.

"Are you going to just keep circling or are you going to fight me?"

Sai hissed through his teeth, "Shut up—!"

The bird flew away, then turned and dove. Hovering inches off the ground, gaining incredible speed. Sai sliced through the street right at Sasuke.

Sasuke pulled out the katana he stole and Sai gripped the open paper.

"_Unabara no E_."

As if he had opened the dam to a great river, ink poured out of the scroll.

Sasuke was immersed in seconds. The ink was alive and he shut his eyes, allowing his Kekkei Genkai to rule.

Bubbling in the ocean, Sasuke heard Sai's voice.

"_Sera Oni!_"

Every ounce of liquid was instantly alive and writhing. Beasts, infinite amounts of monsters, swarmed on him.

He felt them lifting him off the ground and he hit the wall of a building. The sea parted and Sasuke was stuck to the wall. Before him the ink demons were collecting for one last blow.

They plunged forward and Sasuke was consumed by them. He could feel the concrete being dissolved by their force and it took a formidable push of chakra in every part of his body to keep his limbs from being torn off.

Sasuke pulled himself in and gathered chakra into a shell around him.

"_Chidori Nagashi_."

Electricity burst out and the ink parted, dropping like dead water.

Sasuke also fell. Some of the current had backlashed on him and his nerves were frazzled for a few seconds.

Sasuke hit the ground on a knee and rolled through the momentum of impact. He found Sai in the air again.

"Are you really Root's best? I should be dead by now, right?"

Sai's usually expressionless gaze was livid. "I said, _shut up_!" He made another set of seals, "_Henkei—_"

The ink all around him reanimated and gathered to Sai. He ripped off his gloved hand and held it out, palm facing Sasuke.

"—_Ryuu!_"

The ink hit the back of his hand and condensed, shooting through his chakra channel out his palm.

Sai cried out in pain as the jutsu manifested and the bulk of his remaining ink, now juiced with chakra, reared its head as a horrifying dragon.

It was unlike the creations before, crude black and white clones of reality. This was a creation of Sai's mind come to life.

Sasuke scaled the structure nearest to him and flipped his katana that he had managed to hold on to. He caught it so the blade was down and stabbed it into the wall. Coiling wire around the handle, he bounded into the air with the silver line trailing behind him.

He landed on the dragon's head and wrapped the wire around its jaws.

The monster's belly swelled and Sasuke stared straight into its eyes before realizing the impossible. Fire spurted out of the dragon and slathered Sasuke in unbearable heat. The flame was more like molten lava and poured out like sputtering water. Sasuke's body vanished in a puff of smoke, replaced with thick concrete that smacked Sai's creation in the face.

Sai looked around, confused for seconds before seeing a shadow fall on his body from above.

"Sasuke, stop!" Sakura's outburst from below filled the silence as Sai realized the danger. "Don't kill him!"

Sasuke landed on Sai's bird with his katana and ran it through.

The jutsu dispelled and both shinobi dropped.

The dragon swooped in and caught Sai on its back. Sasuke spotted the wire dangling and grabbed it, swinging up and around its body.

With the cable in one hand and blurred seals occupying the other, Sasuke bellowed, "_Raiton Taiga_."

The wire lit up with light that spiked outward, spearing the dragon.

The monster bled black and arched back, but did not disappear.

It slammed on the ground and barrel rolled, flinging Sasuke off.

He was torn from the wire and it unraveled from the beast in its dizzying rotation.

With freedom in its eyes, the fire boiled out and splattered on the building beside Sasuke, barely missing him. The concrete caved and he evaded for a few steps before getting his feet caught up in a remaining creation on the ground.

Trapped to the floor, Sasuke stared the flames in the mouth.

"_Tsuuten Senshi!_"

The dragon buckled and its neck broke. The flames were cut short and the giant was launched like a flicked pebble.

Sakura stood in the clearing with her fist out.

The ink dissolved at Sasuke's feet and the dragon stopped moving.

Sai rose from the high pile of rubble and stood on his inert creation. They watched him stagger and slip. He slid messily to the ground and barely caught himself. His previously injured leg had been broken under the dragon's weight. A few ribs were probably cracked and broken as well. He held his leg and squeezed the meat around the break, forcing in some careless healing chakra. He managed to tie the broken bone together and cut the nerves in his calf. With the sheath of his short sword, he made a splint. He stuck the blade through the fabric of his pants leg to serve as its new holder.

He was walking again before ten seconds had passed.

Sakura held herself still when she wanted to run to his aid. "Sai, that's enough."

His eyes were burning, "Stop interfering!"

Sai rushed Sasuke, driving him back a few steps before they stopped in an exchange of skilled hand to hand attacks.

Only a few punches in, Sasuke knew it was his victory. "You can't beat me."

"SHUT UP!"

Sasuke beat the cracked ribs and Sai lost his breath. He wheeled aimlessly and Sasuke retaliated with a hard kick in Sai's stomach. After staggering back, Sai called upon his short blade. Sasuke continued to fight barehanded without difficulty.

Sakura gritted her teeth. It was painful to watch.

Sasuke disarmed the withering shinobi and their feet planted—Sai, unable to push him, and Sasuke, unwilling to fight seriously.

"This is pathetic."

There was a moment of lax in Sasuke's defense and Sai acted abruptly. He grabbed an ink stick from his pack and ground it in his teeth. Black smoke poured out of his mouth and he formed signs.

He pressed his lips together and sprayed the black ink ahead of him.

"_Kan SUMI._"

Sasuke was completely unprepared for the black blades that speared him.

"Sasuke!"

Sakura intervened, breaking the glass-like material from Sasuke and charging Sai.

He wisely dodged; his angered expression and all signs of desperation were gone from him. Not as if he had dispelled an illusion made to fool his opponents, but as if he were shoving those emotions into the furthest depths he could in order to reawaken his desire to live.

Sasuke ripped the black spears from him. They hadn't gone deep, but they had pissed him off.

The curse seal on his shoulder flared.

The ink that had shattered turned viscous. It lifted off the ground in a ball of questionable churning black.

Sasuke blinked and innumerable spikes shot out, born from the sphere, and branched off in every direction. Sai and Sakura were separated and the kunoichi was pinned.

Sasuke jumped and flew towards the katana still stuck in the wall. He pulled it out and pushed off before the spears found him. He evaded their structured movement with ease, aiming for their creator.

He was just about there when the angular spears turned soft again and swirled around him, entrapping him in black vines.

Sakura smashed the spears around her and sprinted to stop her friend.

Sai picked up his short blade where it had fallen and lunged to eliminate his target.

Sasuke's hands lit up and he broke out of the ink just enough to aim a finger at his enemy.

Sai was fast, but lightning would be instant.

In the center of all three, a kunai landed.

All eyes flickered to the sizzling explosive tag and they were thrown in the blast.

Sakura went to Sasuke's side first and then prepared for Root to surround them.

Someone _did_ land, but there was just one.

Just one.

A whip of gold hair dragged behind her.

Sakura couldn't believe her eyes.

"Ino…?"

The woman didn't respond. She looked to Sai and, once she was sure she had the time, Ino looked back at Sasuke.

She stared at him for the first time in years, and then openly glared at Sakura.

Sakura's face immediately went soft. "I'm so sorry…"

She refused to fully turn her body away from where Sai was, but still addressed her old friend. "I can't believe this."

"I know… I'm sorry."

Her voice was shaking with fury. "You left me a _note_."

She felt her heart quiver. "I'm sorry."

Ino laughed dryly, "You gave me flowers." She paused, mouth open. Then in a tactless flood, she blubbered furiously. "I hope you at least paid for them." She snapped, "No—you know what, I don't care. I hope you didn't pay for them. I hope you stole them. I hope you stole them from some poor, unsuspecting grandpa. That way, I have a reason to hit you more than once." Sakura started to smile weakly as Ino rambled, "I hope you didn't tip the delivery boy. I bet you threatened him. He was cute. Maybe you seduced him." She hid her eyes from Sakura as they filled with angry and joyous tears. "I hope you ruined his purity just to send me that _stupid_ note… that way, I can give you the reckoning you deserve." She sniffed loudly and touched her nose. "No. That doesn't matter. I don't need a reason. I'm going to beat you up anyway when this is all over."

Sakura choked on her words.

"What?" Ino barked after a deep breath, "Did you _forget_ about me?" The blond hooted loudly and spoke without before hearing an answer. "Just kidding. I know… I know it was for my own good." She sounded slightly sarcastic, "You didn't want me to get hurt, right?"

"Ino, I couldn't—"

"—It's okay." She paused again. She looked at Sakura and the remains of her hardened expression lifted and she smiled. "But when are you gonna learn that you can't _save _everyone. Sometimes we need to save ourselves." When she finished, she gave a genuine smile.

All eyes were at attention where a noise came from the rubble. Sai's black shape rose shakily. Unbalanced, he slumped against a structure.

"Go. I can take care of Sai." She gave Sakura one last playful look. "You have your own bad boy to deal with." She winked at him and Sasuke averted the gesture.

Sai was scaling the concrete slab covering the listless dragon. A blank scroll dragged behind him.

Sakura moved to Ino's side. "Ino, we can—"

Just as she was about to take Ino's arm, the blond turned unexpectedly and slapped her soundly.

Her head turned with the force and she stayed there, bewildered.

"Believe in me, you dope." Ino pushed her into Sasuke.

Before the kunoichi stormed off to face Sai, she said, "Thank you, Sasuke… Thank you for leaving him alive."

He acknowledged her with an incredulous smirk and then spoke to the woman he held, "We have to go."

Sakura nodded and took his hand.

They vanished into a back alley and Ino was alone with him.

She moved slowly, absorbing the silence without fear.

Sai gathered himself and stood tall. His eyes were cold as he spoke.

"I never expected that you would defend him."

Ino laughed lightly, "Neither did I." She took a kunai off the ground. With a big sigh she said, "Well… You picked a side, Sai." She smiled grimly. "And this is mine."

* * *

Kisame loafed on a lonely house, flicking rocks at distant targets. He felt a little bizarre sitting in the open with his chakra lit for all the world to see. It was freeing, none the less. He couldn't remember the last time he didn't have to keep his expansive power in check.

He couldn't remember the last time he was allowed to _fight_ without having to maintain that control. Kisame laughed as he imagined the poor souls that were going to go up against him. He wasn't going to take it easy on anyone this time.

Kisame looked at his stomach. If he had the Samehada still, he could have done more for his internal injuries during the night. The skin was healed and of the bleeding had stopped on the outside, but he knew better than to think permanent damage hadn't been dealt.

But Kisame was not a shinobi that ran from the idea of death. This fight would be his last.

He chuckled to himself. That certainty gave him an otherworldly feeling. It amused him to think that Itachi knew this feeling well and had gone for years believing that every fight might be his last. That explained Itachi's arrogance and general lack of self-preservation.

It also explained Itachi's objective view on living. Kisame flicked another rock as he thought, _this whole war is pointless_. He imagined Itachi felt the same.

That's what it was. War.

War to dominate all the nations, all the world. Madara wanted to become what every fear-filled human being needed. And for those that didn't follow, he would manipulate their minds with the Sharingan and make them mere shells of life.

Puppets.

But what good was that?

What good was controlling soulless humans?

There was no _point_.

No point at all.

But it was the principle.

The principle of total control.

Complete control of birth and death.

He would be the man in control of life.

Kisame snickered. When he thought of it like that, it seemed Madara and Pain had more in common than he first believed.

Madara wanted to become God.

Where Pain fancied himself all-powerful from the get-go, Madara was actually going to _achieve_ it.

But there were conditions to this victory:

He needed boundless power to fuel his Sharingan and his life in order to maintain everlasting dominance, and he needed to be completely unidentified in order to remain in power without suspicion for as long as it pleased him.

Two simple things. Power and anonymity. A nameless and undying monster.

And to get these things, Madara chose to gather and govern the Bijuu to gain their inexhaustible chakra. He needed a nation to represent him, to start from, in order to rebuild the nations as he needed them to be. The key to the first was containment and the key to the second was secrecy.

The other key, it seemed, was Sasuke.

Where the boy fit into Madara's two aims was unknown to Kisame.

Unknown to anyone, it seemed, except to Madara and… Itachi.

And it seemed the requirement attached to _Sasuke_ was that he and his brother absolutely could not meet.

And Itachi seemed intent to throw as many twists at Madara as he could:

He detached himself from the Akatsuki while well aware of Madara's true identity, therefore threatening Madara's need for secrecy. He sent Naruto to Rain; the Bijuu would be set loose if the boy lived and killed Pain and, if the boy died, the Kyuubi would be lost again. Lastly, Itachi's existence alone was enough to draw Sasuke and whatever Madara didn't want Sasuke knowing was in danger of being exposed.

But Itachi hadn't done anything to expose Madara yet and if he died, the identity of Madara would die with him. If Naruto was subdued, Itachi's efforts would have been wasted. And even if Itachi told Sasuke whatever truth he wasn't supposed to hear, Itachi had no control over whether or not Sasuke would listen.

Kisame saw it all as a gamble. An interesting gamble. Yes, Madara had major flaws to his two simple conditions, but they were large conditions. Simple and expansive. Power and anonymity. There were more paths to Madara's success than the ones Itachi had sniffed out. There had to be.

Madara had been alive long enough. Even with the potential setbacks Itachi had thrown at him, Madara was always capable of wiping the slate and starting again. Another name, another face, another time. Even Kisame had been unable to see his involvement with the Mizukage. How many times Madara had appeared, failed, and vanished again in his lifetime?

It wasn't important when or how. The only thing remaining was the principle.

Just as Kisame flicked another pebble, the air changed.

Sasuke's chakra, along with three others, appeared.

Suigetsu was with them.

He dumped the remaining rocks and stood.

Root made their move.

Five split from the armada. The weakest team among them moved in a great arc around his position. Another team went for Itachi. The remaining two teams of six headed straight for him.

He dropped off the house and ran to meet the shinobi.

Without any inkling of a plan, Kisame charged.

Long range attacks struck first. Spears of rock, and explosive balls of light peppered the ground all around him.

He was blinded and isolated in the barrage, but was not struck.

The second wave came predictably. From below, two shinobi emerged and pinned him in the street with nowhere to dodge. They began midrange strikes, forcing him to leap in the air. Two shinobi were standing on a roof as he flew to eye level with them in his jump. Their hands were pushing together and in the space between there palms was compressed wind chakra.

It shot out, intending to pierce his heart, but punctured his shoulder instead.

Kisame roared and landed on the roof. He grabbed the first shinobi with unexpected strength and ripped the man's arm out of its socket, a second wind jutsu in that hand dispersed. He crushed the shinobi's throat—simultaneously sucking his chakra channels dry—and threw the dismembered body at his teammate.

As soon as he let go, he formed a chisel of chakra out of his hand and thrust it through the dead body and into the chest cavity of the living one. He mutilated the heart and lung with searing chakra and pulled his arm out, covered in their blood.

A rock spear came from his blind spot and went through his leg, pinning him to the roof.

A rope of water came from behind, coiling around his neck and bending him back. He watched a shinobi from afar prepare to hurtle another spear. Kisame put his hands on the water and drained the chakra controlling it without restraint. He heard a body drop behind him and the water released.

Before the water could splash on the ground, Kisame took control of it with hand seals. The spear was thrown, aimed for his chest.

"_Suikoudan no Jutsu!_"

A column of water met the spear, wrapping around it and breaking it. The column then funneled at the shinobi in the distance and knocked him off his perch. Kisame struck the rock holding his leg, broke it, and yanked it out. The muscle and skin healed, but the bone was shattered.

Kisame cursed under his breath and leapt from the exposed roof.

He gripped the wall as he slid to the street and landed on his good leg.

The two nin he left below were on him instantly. He assumed one was the caster of the water jutsu that had temporarily lost consciousness. There was a particularly bitter aggression in his attacks. The other was a tall female with a masked face.

The woman split into two. Kisame parted from the wall quickly after realizing she was trying to corner him with taijutsu. Her fists were like steel. Whatever jutsu she used was close to breaking his hands as he defended. But with every strike, he stole just enough chakra to reinforce his bones. The comminuted fracture in his leg was beginning to piece together.

She advanced and retreated, cycling with her double, allowing the man with his water jutsu to attack in between. Every time, Kisame just had to touch the water for it to become useless.

The woman was baffled at why Kisame was fighting on par with them. She was even more confused at her own exhaustion.

But before she could realize the drastic decrease in her chakra levels, the clone was disturbed and vanished.

Kisame was about to smash her windpipe with a chakra laced strike, her infuriated partner wailed,

"_MOVE!_" He had a familiar hand seal ready and as soon as the woman was clear he shouted, "_Suishouha!_"

Kisame burst into laughter as he was drowned in limitless water.

He spun freely in the waves.

What unfortunate creatures they were, trying to sink a fish.

Kisame swirled the water around him, ripping it out of the shinobi's control.

The woman and the original user were pulled in just as the two long range attackers showed up on the roof. The shinobi that had used the spears was holding onto the shoulder of the other loosely. Kisame's swat had at least weakened him.

But now there was not a hope for victory.

"SENJIKIZAME!"

Sharks made of condensed water were born and churned the sea with hungry death.

The water turned red as the two shinobi he had trapped were eaten. The wave rose under Kisame's control and swallowed the remaining Root.

Or, at least, he believed he had.

The sharks finished their frenzy and Kisame allowed the water to release, creating a two foot pond in the streets.

He stepped carefully with his healing leg to one of the shinobi still breathing. He bent down and grabbed the nin's arm. He drained whatever chakra remained and spared the shinobi the disgrace of bleeding to death.

As soon as he saw the remains, he realized one had gotten away.

Whoever had been holding up the injured shinobi had fled.

Kisame was about to let the poor soul live when he felt a footstep through the water. He turned, looking down one street and saw a thin shadow turn the corner.

"_Henka Same._"

In the reflection of the water, Kisame saw the black eyes of a shark slink away towards the splashing footsteps.

Kisame couldn't even see the face of the girl around the corner, but she was young and afraid. He only heard the panicked cry as the shadow undoubtedly immobilized its prey. There was the sound of loud thrashing on the water.

A shrill scream echoed and then silence.

The name Root had given her was Rei.

Her last thought was of her only friend. A friend that she had abandoned.

Yoko.

Kisame waited for the other six to turn up. When they didn't make an appearance he assumed they had left him for dead.

As if one team was enough to handle one of the former Akatsuki.

He limped a ways before there were more splashes on the water. Many more.

He grinned; glad his fun had not ended. The bone was only a little tender now and he was beginning to feel strong in his leg again.

The face that turned the corner was unexpected.

It was that of a young soldier he had not seen in many, many years.

"Suigetsu! Wait!"

The man stopped at the sight of him and the woman scampered into his back.

"KISAME!"

Before he knew it, Kisame was knocked by a battering-ram blow. Had he not focused chakra in his stomach, he would have been chopped in half by the stolen sword of an old mercenary he once knew, Zabuza.

He slid in the water, gaining distance again.

"It's been a while," he chuckled. "That was quite a greeting."

Suigetsu stood proudly in the street with Karin close behind him.

"We don't have time for this, Suigetsu. They're gaining."

Kisame looked at them, then at the sky. A hoard of Root leapt over their heads from one roof to the next. The three on the ground would soon be surrounded.

He chortled with a condescending tone. "Shall we call a temporary truce?"

Root landed. Seven.

Suigetsu and Karin stood back to back, but both kept glancing hesitantly at Kisame.

The water under the blue man's feet rippled.

"Truce?" He asked again.

Suigetsu bit his lip and cursed.

Kisame took that as a "yes" and cackled brashly, "Alright then! _MURE!_" He cast out his arms and a swarm of gigantic shark heads burst from the water, clearing the Root in seconds. The beasts followed, flying through the air, depleting the pond of water until Kisame, Suigetsu, and Karin were standing on hard ground.

One was swallowed and the leftovers landed soggily at Karin's feet. She shrieked and Kisame continued to guffaw madly.

Suigetsu saw a shadow move near them and threw up his blade. Kisame and Karin looked at him incredulously until he struck something invisible. The screech of metal against metal woke them up and Karin quickly moved in with paralyzing chakra fingers.

A body hit the ground and became visible again.

Two more attacked Karin with long range weapons, knowing she wouldn't be able to defend. A prickly chain dug into Karin's arm and the other shinobi set pellets of oily flares on her. They stuck to her skin, setting her on fire. She skinned one off of her, and before she could get the others she was drenched in water. A ring of water focused on the chain and froze. Karin took the opportunity to shatter it with a kunai. To her right, Kisame released the water jutsu and beamed at her. She pulled back, a little repulsed yet grateful.

Suigetsu leapt at them and caught a second barbed chain with his blade before it could strike Karin again. He dragged the sword up, surprising the shinobi and slicing into his hand, splitting his arm down the center before hitting the bone of his elbow. Suigetsu decapitated the man before he could pass out from shock.

Hands melded out of the concrete, capturing his feet.

The woman left standing launched fire balls again, but Suigetsu turned into water and they passed through, landing lifelessly as black lumps. Suigetsu moved away his feet while they were formless, but his sword was grabbed. Suigetsu refused to let go and was dragged down with it.

He fell, encased in mud and rubble, into a dark room. The grit tried to mix with his watery form and he was forced to solidify.

Outside, another shinobi landed between Kisame and Karin. The large man punched the muddied ground and broke off large hunks of soil. Kisame shot veins of liquid at the man, but they were absorbed. Karin threw kunai and they stuck in the earth as the man deflected.

The man beckoned Kisame with the toss of his head, and Kisame wouldn't dare disappoint.

He sprung forward and dodged the man's first high swing. As soon as he was inside the man's range they were fighting hand to hand. Kisame drained chakra from every strike. But when he himself attacked, he felt an equal tug as his own chakra was stolen.

Kisame looked at the face of his attacker. Something passed between them, a sort of thrilled understanding, and Karin witnessed their chakra levels shoot up. The two of them were suddenly oozing with power.

They exchanged hard, bone-crushing blows.

Karin couldn't stand to be distracted for long. The woman left standing on the roof gracefully touched down on her level. The kunoichi had swords of fire, made from molten black oil.

"_Kansai Tsuba!_"

Flecks of flame shot of the tips of the blades as she spun them. In seconds, Karin was surrounded by fire.

Kisame called from his position, "I hope you can take care of yourself, missy! I don't have any hands to spare!"

Karin looked around at their limited playing field. The woman stared at her with trembling legs. The look in the woman's eyes suggested the fiery display as a final act.

Karin held a kunai and pulled in her chakra. With a burst of energy in her feet, Karin flew at her enemy and began a very delicate and careful dance in the flames.

The woman spun, flicking more black at Karin. She dodged, knowing they would stick to whatever they touched.

They countered smoothly and the woman backed away. Karin ran at her again and the woman brought the swords together above her and down in a sweep. A spray of black fanned out at Karin, but with a burst of chakra in her chest, she deflected the oily specks. Her legs were hit and caught fire. But she did not stop.

Karin tackled the woman and they tumbled out of the fiery cage.

Karin continued to wrestle with the woman, smoldering and covered in burns. She landed on top and put the kunai to her enemy's throat.

Inside of the building. Suigetsu was being squeezed by the muddy binds.

He writhed, flying through possible plans of action.

The shinobi in the dark walked calmly to him holding a long sword. She placed it to Suigetsu's neck and stabbed firmly.

The blade went through and out of the mess, a beam of water shot out, splattering against the wall. The sword was propelled by the pressure out the window.

The nin stood dumbfounded. She approached the wall, considering that the explosion was due to death and that the one she had trapped was a water clone.

On the floor behind her, the puddle moved and Suigetsu reformed, slugging the unsuspecting kunoichi. Suigetsu then threw himself into her and out the only window that opened into the street. They both fell through it.

She landed on her head, snapping her neck, and Suigetsu turned into water again, splashing harmlessly.

The kunoichi under Karin shoved her off. She scrambled up and looked at Suigetsu straight in the eye.

Suigetsu saw boundless fear in her face. It was more human than he was expecting to see. She ran past desperately. Suigetsu was about to attack, but saw that the kunoichi was running to pick up the shinobi Karin had stunned. They were gone in a flash of white.

Kisame was still trading blows with the giant.

One strike caught Kisame by surprise and he braced with a wide stance. The bone in his leg cracked again. He could feel his stomach sloshing with blood and severed tissue. He could fell the skin swelling.

Karin and Suigetsu watched.

After a moment, she spoke quietly to him, "He's not going to win."

Suigetsu's eyes went wide.

Not going to win.

Suigetsu rushed to the large man as soon as his back was turned toward him and grabbed him from behind, bulking with water. The man's arms were flung up.

"Kill him, Kisame!"

Kisame stabbed his hand under the man's ribs and ripped his arm out again, separating the ribs. Every muscle, bone, and sinew was severed, leaving the man with a gaping chest.

Suigetsu cringed and released the man. He fell to his knees and Kisame took the shinobi's head in his hands and snapped the neck.

Their last enemy fell lifelessly.

"You didn't have to be so messy. You could have just gotten his neck first."

Kisame shrugged. "He was a bit too tall."

Suigetsu looked at the body one last time before turning and walking to his sword that he had sent out the window. It was covered in muddy blood.

"You're a little messy as well. You didn't have to slice open that woman's arm before you killed her."

Suigetsu sniggered to himself. "That's true."

Karin stood silently to the side, unsure of what was going to happen.

He looked at Kisame again and then at his sword. "I'll be honest; we don't have time to waste here."

Kisame nodded. He walked slowly. Suigetsu subconsciously countered, walking the opposite way in a circle.

They could feel the tension rising between them. Both chakras flaring aggressively, waiting for the first move.

Until Suigetsu stopped.

Kisame also stopped, curious.

Suigetsu looked at his enemy squarely. "I won't… kill you."

Kisame roared with laughter, startling Karin and Suigetsu. "Who says you can! HA! What a bold brat."

He stepped strongly towards Suigetsu, then again. Progressing and forcing the clash of chakra to quiver between them with rage and violence.

Suigetsu was almost swept up in instinct and gripped his sword.

Abruptly he stood straight after realizing he had crouched down to spring.

Kisame glared. "You are wasting time, kid. Fight me!"

Suigetsu looked at the sword, a cleaver thirsty for meat. It was heavy and abrasive in his grip. While the sword was yearning for murder, Suigetsu was not.

"No." He stuck the sword in the dirt. "I'm done."

Kisame paused, grinding his face with a scowling frown. He marched to Suigetsu and grabbed his throat.

"Then you are useless."

He started to squeeze, and Karin dashed at them.

"Stop, Karin!"

She hesitated, obeying tentatively.

Kisame gripped harder. "Cut me down, Suigetsu."

Suigetsu shook his head.

"Cut me down, you worthless shit!"

Kisame growled and felt Suigetsu's windpipe being crushed by his anger.

Karin started again and Suigetsu immediately ordered, "D-…don't."

She whimpered, holding her shaking legs still.

Kisame lifted him off the ground and the ceased blood flow made Suigetsu's eyes swim.

Consciousness and life was about to leave him. Just a few more seconds.

Then Kisame let him go.

Suigetsu dropped.

Karin hurried to his side, forcing blood to flow with chakra. The color returned to Suigetsu's face and he opened his eyes calmly.

"What were you thinking, you idiot!"

Suigetsu smiled at her, "I don't know."

Kisame stood silent, observing.

Suigetsu rubbed his neck, not meeting eyes with Kisame, "Why didn't you kill me, Kisame?"

He looked at the brat and chewed his cheek a little. Then he spat blood in the mud. "Would have left a bad taste."

Suigetsu gave a raspy laugh.

With that, Kisame walked away.

Suigetsu called after him, "Where are you going?"

"Who knows."

Kisame kept walking. Walking. Aimlessly through the streets. He wondered where Itachi could be. He had a hunch and proceeded to follow it. Every step he felt a little weaker. His own chakra seemed depleted. If that was even possible.

He assumed what he was feeling was depletion. He had never had the experience firsthand. Maybe he had been doomed the minute Samehada died.

He walked further and further, feeling dry and thin.

He stopped when he felt something near him.

"Lookie here." His voice was scraggly and subdued.

There was no answer.

"What're the odds that I'd run into you. Where's Sasuke?"

Kisame took a step and stumbled. He leaned heavily against cold concrete.

In the silence, Kisame felt himself fading into sleep.

"Did you kill the others?"

"Ah…" He opened his eyes again, but couldn't see the owner of that voice for one reason or another. He scratched his numb stomach. "No. Don't know what's gotten into me. I guess I've lost my touch. "

"That's an understatement."

Kisame gurgled a laugh.

"You're dying."

He leaned hard against the wall, sliding down a little.

"Maybe."

Itachi unsheathed his katana. "Have you been well entertainment?"

Kisame blinked, his face neutral.

"Am I covered in blood?"

Itachi tilted his head, lifting a brow. He answered all the same, "Yes."

"Then, _yeah_. I had fun." He grinned drowsily, "And Suigetsu was as wimpy as ever."

His vision was completely gone. His limbs felt distant.

"Shit. It's getting dark."

"It's starting to rain."

Kisame looked up to confirm the blackening sky, but could see nothing. Blood loss was wearing him away. "Guess so."

Itachi raised the katana, placing it flat on Kisame's shoulder.

Itachi was about to swing when he was met with one last crazed grin and Kisame's final words.

"See you in hell."

He readied the blade and in one clean cut, the katana stuck in the concrete wall and Kisame fell, headless.

Itachi pulled out the sword and flicked it down, throwing off the blood. He sheathed it again.

He quoted with pleased sarcasm, "How dull."

He didn't want to admit that that death rattle suited Kisame more than him. He closed an eye and a tear of blood fell.

"_Amaterasu_."

Kisame's corpse was lit by the black flames.

Itachi left the fires to eat their fill and returned to where he had been waiting for Sasuke: the center of the settlement. A place where they shared a common memory. A sacred and cursed monument to their heritage.

As the rain gained intensity, Itachi climbed to the roof again and perched there.

If Sasuke's teammates had gotten so close to the building, Sasuke was probably only moments away.

Itachi laid on the damp roof and shut his eyes.

As the Sharingan recovered at record speed, he listened to the raindrops fall.

* * *

This has been a very long chapter. A lot has happened. A lot. I've come to realize that OC's are very important for my plots. It gives me an opportunity to create a more in-depth world to play with. The Root OC's have been very fun. (Also, keeping up with every single Root has been super-duper fun.)

After working on this story for so long, I have come to fully appreciate prudent planning. If you don't have all the details ironed out, you can lose your audience in your own attempt to correct your short comings. I hope I've still got you peeps with me and I hope the story has become as compelling to read as it has been to write.

* * *

Next Chapter – Thank You and Goodbye

…

Man lives freely only by his readiness to die, if need be, at the hands of his brother; never by killing him.

_Mahatma_ _Gandhi_


	15. Thank You and Goodbye

Playlist: Porcelain (Moby), Simple Little Melody (The Black Eyed Peas), Suffocated (Orianthi), Paper Walls (Yellowcard), Your Ex-Lover is Dead (Stars), September (Spoken), and How it Ends (DeVotchKa).

* * *

Man lives freely only by his readiness to die, if need be, at the hands of his brother; never by killing him.

_Mahatma_ _Gandhi_

* * *

…

Thank You and Goodbye

…

* * *

Their eyes suggested murderous desires while they circled one another.

Ino's emotions were burned into her expression. Sai's voice was constricted by chains, conflicted between the spilling need to connect to Ino and an ingrained draw towards frozen silence.

"I'm sorry, Ino. You leave me no choice."

"Why? Is this an order from your _Hokage_?" Sarcasm slathered her jab.

He struck back just as coarsely. "Don't criticize things you don't understand."

She moved a kunai carefully in her fingers.

"I'm not sure _you_ understand."

She succumbed to her temper and threw it. He deflected. She ran at him, caught the rebounding weapon, and stabbing at him again. He dodged and she moved past him. They reached their original distance and circled at a drawn out pace.

"I cannot allow you to stop me." His coldness bit at her.

She winced as he dragged his blade across his wrist. He held the bleeding wound over black puddles of ink and the blood mixed with it. As if awakened by the sacrifice, the ink slithered up, coating his arms.

The ink turned to blades on his hands and clinked like glass against Ino's kunai as he charged her. She flung him off and had just enough time to pull a hidden knife from her ankle. She blocked with two hands as he brought both black blades down on her and skidded back.

Both noticed at once they were being watched.

Eight Root landed on the roofs around them. They had been drawn by Sai's battle with Sakura and Sasuke. They knew Sai was to be killed, and none of them would spare Ino.

"_Shinranshin no Jutsu!_"

Two of Root's forces suddenly attacked each other and crashed on the ground in surprise. A third recognized the jutsu and frantically tried to break them apart.

A shinobi tried to sneak up behind Ino and she tapped her heel, activating a blade in the toe of her shoe.

She spun, slicing them back.

Her back was immediately exposed and, just before a shinobi struck her down, a ninth shinobi appeared. Ino saw the woman over her shoulder before she could turn around and block. The woman shouted at the same time as Sai:

"_Gouu no Jutsu!_"

"STOP!"

There was a low rumble in the air.

Black spears shot out.

A drop of rain touched Ino's skin.

A spider web of ink spread, stabbing through the woman behind Ino.

In only a moment, it was a downpour. The ink on the ground ran together. The blood splattered on Ino's face was cleared away.

The woman fought death and commanded, "_Ame O Ayatsuri_."

The shinobi were lifted into the air by the rain; their limbs spread and they were frozen like puppets.

The black swelled with the rain she had created and gained strength. It moved away from the woman and wrapped around their other enemies.

The ink grew stronger and stronger, covering the shinobi and binding them firmly.

Ino watched the woman collapse and turned to see Sai.

In hindsight, he recognized the woman. She had been teamed with him many times. Her control of the weather was convenient when water was scarce and that gift had saved him more than once. They had trained together. He had known her well. He had once protected her.

Now he was her executioner.

"Yoko…"

He was frozen, arms clear of black glass, and his eyes were wide with countless emotions. The ink began to constrict and Ino could sense death's grip on the throats of the eight shinobi.

Ino's face contorted. She began to crumble at the sight of Sai's mercilessness.

"I thought you were one of us in Konoha, not Root. I believed that… you were thoughtful and humble and _human_. But… I was wrong." Her inflamed rage shook her body. "You fooled me. Just like you were trained to, I guess."

his eyes snapped onto her and slowly lowered his arms.

"I didn't want to see it, but I knew you were an _unnatural_ man. You're just soldier that thinks he has no choice but to obey the most powerful voice telling him what to do and what to think…"

Sai looked confused and the jutsu weakened enough for their enemies to breathe again.

Her voice cracked, "…and what to feel."

His eyes were glossy.

"You can never be free, can you!"

Sai didn't speak. But some physical instinct, some trained response had him pull out a stick of dried ink and rub it on a gathered puddle of water. As if possessed, he used his fingers to numbly paint on a blank scroll with the new born ink. Blood was unintentionally mixed in and the creatures created were almost solid, like the dragon.

A handful of them were flanking him, looming. Blind. Waiting for Sai's mind to connect to them and control them. But they just floated there.

What was he supposed to do with them? What would he normally do?

Ino took a step and the splash woke him.

"You don't even know what freedom _feels_ like!"

One creation moved to tackle Ino and she avoided it.

"You only know death!" She threw an indicative hand toward the woman lying dead and the eight others at his mercy. "You only know _hate_!"

She took another step and another animal moved in. Two worked together to try and pin her.

She twirled, slicing open their bellies and they dispelled.

The ink mixed with the water. Black.

"And only the unloved hate—the unloved and the _unnatural_."

Another rammed her and she stopped the jaws before they could claim her arm.

She jumped, clamoring onto its back and off again. She threw down her kunai and knife to cast a clone jutsu.

Three Ino's appeared and one grabbed the legs of the beast while the others ran ahead of her.

"_Bunshin Bakuha._"

The clone with the beast exploded.

More ink spread.

"Do you even know what you are fighting for!"

Something sparked in Sai and he dispelled the creatures behind him.

Black covered the street and it looked like they were the only two left in the world.

They sprung at each other and danced in the rain.

Their blows missed and whatever did land was well blocked. It looked like a kind of gently sparring used to rehabilitate an injured shinobi and gradually reintroduce thim into battle.

Ino touched him again and again, feeling her heart sink lower and lower.

She slipped on the water and Sai saw his chance.

He grabbed her arm, slinging her back and down into the ink.

He landed on top of her and pinned her there.

Only then did he realize they were panting. His eyes refocused on her face and he saw unbearable sadness there.

They stayed there for a long, long time.

Finally, she said, "I don't want to see this anymore."

Her face changed in flashes of thought. But he could not understand.

"Kill me, Sai."

He obeyed. He laid his blade on her throat and pressed the blood out.

He looked at the blade and then into the reflection of her pale eyes.

His breathing tensed, getting faster and faster.

With a helpless roar, he hurled away the blade and grabbed her shoulders to shake her fiercely.

"WHY DID IT HAVE TO BE YOU!" He shook her harder, splintering the rain with his voice, "WHY YOU!"

Her hands were still at her side. She did not resist anymore. Her eyes softened and she cooed almost soundlessly:

"It's you. I'm here because of you."

"WHY!" He mocked her mercilessly, "Why are you here if I'm so hopeless and full of hate!"

She was quiet for a moment, silenced by the answer she did not have.

The world was still, all but the rain. The shinobi above them, confined by ink, watched.

Ino's mind was flickering with all the things she had been through with Sai. His eyes had once showed her a world she longed to comprehend.

She remembered the way he cherished things in silence with only his eyes.

She marked the day when the greedy and the corrupt forced those eyes shut and began whittling away at his spirit.

"I wanted to free you."

Something sparked in him and he thundered alongside the skies screams of thunder:

"THEN FREE ME IF YOU CAN!" He grabbed her throat with both hands. "I'm going to _kill you_!"

He lunged with a leg, pulling her up by his throttling hands. She pushed herself up as he tried to stand but did not resist the strangulation.

"Why!" He squeezed her flesh.

She suppressed a gagging sound and forced open her eyes.

He was startled by the muffled sound, then threw her into the black puddles again.

He grabbed his own hair, pulling and shaking himself.

"You don't know anything about me! You don't know who I am!—" He was shattering, his bones felt like they were exploding. His voice was raw and unrestrained. "No one does! You can say all these things…. You can say ANYTHING. BUT—"

He fell to his knees.

"—I _AM_ FREE! I am not someone's _TOOL_! Or a mindless beast!"

He slammed his fists on the ground.

"I am not _EMPTY_! I am not someone who needs to be _freed_."

He remembered his audience and looked at those who had similarly detached eyes. Similarly scarred minds.

"I don't want to kill! I don't want to hate!"

Ino rose slowly as she listened.

"_I CAN LOVE, CAN'T I!_"

She walked toward his trembling form.

"I can…! I can love this world."

He saw her and stared into her, feeble and bare.

"I love life—living…" His voice shook. "I don't want to give up…"

Tears—not ever before allowed to carve his face—flowed as strongly as the rain.

"I want to _LIVE_!"

Ino collapsed before him and pulled him into her arms.

"I want… to _live_…"

She pulled him to earth.

"I know…" She cried into him, "You're not a monster… like they shaped you to be." She sobbed a laugh into his shoulder as she dug her hands into his back. "I know you want to be some dumb fool who loves and is loved just like everyone else."

The rain was falling all around them; both were soaked to their bones.

"You can be whoever you want, Sai. You can do whatever you want. You can have a name—A home…" Ino laughed into him, as if what she was saying was the easiest thing in the world to understand. "You can create your own happiness, Sai…. This life is _yours._"

Seconds passed before both were shocked into awareness of their audience by an additional shinobi that appeared from an alley close to them.

"Have you heard enough?"

Sai knew that face. The one who saved him from Taii.

The young shinobi, Hi.

He walked to Yoko who was laying still now, his eyes weak with sadness.

He looked at Sai, then at them all.

He projected into the street, reaching the ears of Root. "Have you _fought_ enough as well?"

He knelt by Yoko and lifted her from the water.

"You have seen the destruction at Konoha. And you have suspicions, I'm sure, that something is terribly wrong with this war." He waited to read their faces and recognized their similar thoughts, "I guarantee we were _not_ supposed to survive this day. We were sent here to die. So, I ask: Do you really know who you are following? Do you really know who you are fighting against?" He paused, "This much I know…" He delivered his words to Sai directly, "People that I swore in my heart to protect have died as my enemy. And _I_… am done killing."

He invited Sai to release the Root with a gentle nod. Ino tensed when Sai complied.

The shinobi moved their freed limbs. They looked down at Hi with hesitation. Ino likewise released the two she had trapped in her jutsu. Those two and the one helping them relaxed.

Hi watched their expressions.

"I am going to Suna with other survivors. I am going to face whatever fate awaits me." He looked down at Ino and grinned. "I'm as good as dead already. But I want to believe that I can be forgiven too. I want to believe that there is a place for me where no one has to die. And that I can achieve happiness with my own hands."

All of them rose as he spoke.

Ino's heart pounded fearfully. Eight shinobi. Very much alive.

Hi was not afraid, "Come with me. Do not sacrifice yourself to this war."

Ino saw their eyes change and felt hope.

Hi looked to the alley where he had come from and two shinobi appeared—a woman and her unconscious partner she carried on her back. They met up with Hi in the center of the street and started walking.

The Root that had been caught by his words followed. Those that were unsure lingered for a few moments before flickering away.

Ino got up and dragged Sai to his feet beside her.

It was over.

She exhaled heavily and looked at him.

"I told you it wouldn't be easy."

He inquired incredulously, "What?"

"The minute you stopped listening to me back in Konoha. That's when your life went to shit."

He rolled his eyes.

She grinned and hauled his arm over her shoulder. She started walking and he struggled to catch up with his limp.

"Where are you going?"

With an exuberant sigh, she said, "Konoha." After his confused silence, she added, "I figured you had some questions you wanted to ask your old boss. And I have things to do in the area, so I don't mind traveling with you."

"Who was it that said I could go wherever I wanted to go?"

She stopped and turned her head to him. "Okay, fine. Where to? I'll be your arms and legs as long as you need me."

There was an embarrassed pause.

Then Sai declared, "Konoha."

Ino nodded with a smile and resumed her steady pace.

* * *

As the battle grounds became clearer and less shinobi wandered the streets, Sasuke and Sakura were suddenly alone on the road they walked.

Both were silent with their hands clasped tightly.

Their roundabout path to the structure they sought was finally unwinding and the center of the settlement was in sight. When they entered an open road, there was a scraggly caw that made Sasuke freeze.

Sakura felt a fleck of Itachi's chakra nearby and they both looked into the shadow of a building where a black crow was standing perfectly still. Its red eyes pierced through the dark.

Sasuke seemed speechless and Sakura quickly filled the space.

"Is Naruto—?"

The bird spoke in a rattling echo, "Naruto is where he wants to be."

Itachi's voice woke Sasuke.

He was real.

The end was real.

"He is in Rain, but he will not be defeated there."

The honesty in his voice threw her off.

The crow hobbled out of the shade. Its feathers glistened.

"You've gotten taller, Sasuke."

A speckle of rain hit the ground. The crow did not flinch.

Sakura looked at Sasuke, but he could not answer.

In his place she asked, "Where are you?"

"The roof."

The feeling of imminence those two words brought on hit her like a wall. She looked up at the structure. There were dead weeds not too far off. She wondered where the entrance was.

"I won't bother warning you to stay behind." Sakura was startled when the crow addressed her. "You know your fate if you interfere."

It was her turn to be silent.

The rain was picking up.

"I'm waiting, Sasuke."

The crow broke down in black feathers that faded to nothing.

Sasuke looked at the roof.

Sakura was focused on the hand she still held.

She felt his pulse, the heat from his palm. She might never feel that heat again.

Everything would be over with this fight.

He would fly or he would fall.

Here.

Now.

Weak impulses came with every beat of her heart. She wanted to bind him to her. She wanted to kiss him. She wanted to make this moment last. Even though he had been waiting for so many years, she wanted to tear it away from him and beg him to stay. She didn't want their time to end.

But…

Sakura closed her eyes and knew there was nothing left to do but let go.

She slowly slid her fingers away.

Her hand was numb and she opened her eyes to see it shaking.

Before she could retract it, Sasuke grabbed that hand. Their eyes met and she realized he had been watching her face. For how long? She could not read what his eyes had seen.

Her words were caught and she tried to pull back.

He yanked her in and wrapped his arms around her.

Her heart opened one last time and she whispered into his chest without restraint or thought, "Please…" She pushed weakly with her tempted hands, afraid that her words might hinder his resolve, but she could not stop her mouth. "Please… live."

He released her and looked into her face. His eyes were soft.

"I will."

She reached for him and he swept her up.

"Please…! I'll stay right here," She promised. "So, please just live."

He held her hard against him and murmured back, "I will."

He pressed his face into her hair and they soaked in their goodbye.

Gingerly he lowered her and she looked up at him with dry eyes, despite the rain.

His hands dragged across her skin like silk over her shoulders, up her neck, and to her face.

Something changed as he touched her and he could feel it. He was struck by her glass eyes beaming at him.

They both knew all the brief moments of joy they had given and received were enough, if this had to be the end. No tragedy could taint what good had come from their time together.

With her spirit overflowing, she smiled.

"I love you."

His hands, still on her face, guided her as he pressed a kiss to her forehead.

He brushed her hair with his fingertips.

Her mind, swimming with warmth, heard him say:

"Thank you."

Then he was gone.

The echoes of his touch lingered. She stretched out her hands and let her head fall back with a laugh that resembled a cry.

_Until the time we meet again…_

The rain pattered wildly on the ground.

_Please live._

As she had for many years, she would stand tall…

And wait for Sasuke.

* * *

"Talk about bad luck."

The Hokage stepped boldly out of the shadows towards Madara.

He was at the foot of the mountain. His eyes were startled for only an instant before regaining calm.

"I'm surprised to see you here, Tsunade, not when you've had so many opportunities to escape."

"I have a hunch you would track me down either way. Why not just save you the trouble and meet you head on?"

"That haughty personality must come from your grandfather. But his level of skill is far beyond yours. Senjuu Hashirama owned the title of the strongest shinobi justifiably. And you—his pathetic descendent—can only blow smoke. It is only right that the cur of his lineage be put down."

Tsunade laughed, "Wow. That's harsh."

He continued disdainfully, "I have witnessed your pathetic life for many years. From your birth and through your childhood, I watched over your time with that unfortunate team and the losses you suffered during war… You have always been an ill-fated woman, pitiable and weak. Your life is a string of tragedies outlining the definite decline of the shinobi world. Only once have I seen you triumph: you became a Hokage loved by your village. Too bad you were destined to lose that as well."

"Well, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger."

"You can use that excuse only a few times before it becomes meaningless. Your plight has descended to an extreme low—beyond revival—I'm afraid. You're at death's doorstep."

Tsunade pressed hot chakra into her hands and dove at him. She punched the rock where he had been standing and a giant crack shot up the mountain side.

Madara avoided the attack by passing through the collapsing rock and danced back.

Tsunade mocked him in his retreat. "If you think it'd be that easy, then kill me already, Danz—" Tsunade caught herself in her error.

He chuckled. "You can you can call me by that old name if you prefer. The war has already begun... my name is of no importance. Madara, Tobi, Danzou... call me whatever you want."

She dove again only to be met by a fierce fire jutsu.

"_Katon: Gouka Messhitsu!_"

The street below them caught fire and Tsuande was forced to climb the walls of the Hokage's office. As Madara likewise climbed up the mountain side, Tsaunde called out to him:

"What? Not going to take credit for all your hard work?"

Madara ignored her and continued to scale the mountain. Tsunade, afraid she would lose sight of him, leapt after. She stood in one of the giant holes left from the explosions and spotted him standing on top of the cracked image of her face.

"This isn't about me, Tsunade, don't you see? This world is completely worthless. There is nothing left in it but misery… And there is no need for such a world."

She barked back, "And obliterating it is clearly the only option."

He jeered at her, "I'm not as simple minded as Pain. The world will not achieve true peace by starting over. If there is one thing I've gained from living so long, it's the certain knowledge that history is destined to repeat itself. Humanity never learns even when given another chance."

That statement struck her and she blurted out, "So, what? What possible answer could you have then? You're right. Humans will continue to make mistakes. We try to connect and understand only to end up colliding with each other, never saying or doing the right thing. We will always battle with our insatiable urge for conflict—for war. But we are still _struggling_! Humanity is _not lost_. As long as we are still struggling… we haven't lost."

Madara was still for a moment and stared with dead eyes. Tsunade realized how out of breath she was and, as she calmed down, he said:

"Who are you trying to convince?"

Her heart froze.

"That is why this world is hopeless. People like you will keep letting the rest limp on after they have already lost sight of themselves. People like you are the reason the world is in this state. You keep yourselves ignorant to reality." He paused to look at his own hand, like he could see something stirring inside, "I would know. I've taken over the souls of countless like you. Their faith kept them going, justifying murder and sacrificing thousands to their hate."

Tensely she hissed, "As if you aren't guilty of the same."

"My goals might seem malicious to you, but there is nothing that can be done. Not after all I have seen and learned about this damned existence." He overpowered her with his voice, "I once lived by the rules of this world. Namely: one soul to one body. My genjutsu could create temporary vessels for me to use while preserving my body. Their minds were disconnected while I was in control. I had no need or desire to dive into that chaos. Meat puppets. That's all they were. I had no real interest in understanding them. That is, until I found a young shinobi on the verge of death, crushed under a landslide. His chakra called out to me like my own. It was a young Uchiha. I had never had the opportunity to possess one of my own, but his body was ruined. But my instincts told me to take his Sharingan by any means—"

Tsunade, who had been speechless while listening, burst in with violence, "Like your brother?"

It took him no time to process how she knew before rounding on her viciously, "_I knew you had that file, you stupid woman!_"

"You're the stupid one. Why keep a file like that? You can't be surprised that someone eventually discovered it—"

"Do you think it can save your or this village! _There is nothing you can do to stop me._ _NOTHING._ You have only succeeded in sealing their fate."

"This world has nothing to fear from you."

Madara seemed to swell with rage. "You have no idea. YOU HAVE _NO IDEA_. There is no force on _earth_ that can stop me!"

The fire erupted from him and he consumed the mountain in lava. Tsunade punched the ground and threw up a wall of rubble to protect her from the blast.

In the smoldering confusion, Madara got behind her and kicked her firmly off the cliff.

Tsunade tumbled, unable to grab the wall or a building with a chakra enhanced hand. She flipped in the air and put all of her concentration in her feet. When she hit the ground her expansive chakra cushioned her fall and created a crater.

When she looked up, Madara was waiting with another corrosive fire jutsu that coated the ground.

Tsunade took her stance in the ring of fire as Madara landed a few yards off.

"I'll tell you why I made that file, if it will convince you of how futile your struggle is."

He circled slowly, watching the flames dance in her eyes.

"I kept a record of my actions because this mind is filled with the innumerable memories of the souls I stole. The easiest way I can describe it is… I can manipulate my own existence in and out of reality. This is my Sharingan."

Tsunade could almost feel the menacing power oozing from behind the bandage on his face, his disguise. How did such a corrupt presence escape her notice all of the years he masqueraded as Danzou?

"And it all began with that one boy. I had no idea what would happen, but I pulled that boy into my own soul. I had no certainty that the Kekkei Genkai would transfer, but it did. So did all his remaining life force," Danzou paused and flexed his usually concealed hand as he added, "and his physical condition. My arm and leg were severely crippled where he had been pinned by the rocks; they almost rotted off. Their souls remember the pain of death and push the memories onto my body—" Small emotions slipped in that didn't seem to be his. His eyes were strangely expressive. His mouth that was stuck open quivered and then closed.

Tsunade saw a window when the flames around her weakened. She rolled out of the circle at Madara and sent a shockwave of chakra into the ground, rippling the street and forcing Madara to leap back. She flicked her wrist and a chain shot from her sleeve, wrapping around him.

He was caught and yanked into her range.

The torment that seemed to radiate from his body dissolved into cold silence. His expression hardened and he smiled slowly, like he had achieved some small victory.

Tsunade drew back for a powerful blow.

She threw, but hit nothing, and went tumbling past Madara. The chain passed through him as well and Tsunade was left empty handed.

When she looked up, he was gone, but his voice lingered. The fire was still burning and filling the street with smoke.

All around her, echoing in the air, she could hear words stabbing at her from the gray haze.

"I spent years collecting souls and more years of life."

She could feel his eye on her.

"They're still alive in me."

An intense malice perked behind her and she swung at what appeared to be nothing at first. Suddenly she was swinging through his body where he had reappeared. He caught her fist.

"They remember their last moments, most of them dealt by my hand. They remember all the people they ever met." There was an echo of sadness and rage and fear in his voice that Tsunade knew did not belong to him. "Sometimes their feelings toward loved ones and friends would come over me."

Tsunade tried to pull away, but he held her there, trapping her with his shocking revelation.

"M—…monster."

"That is the curse of feeding off the lives of others."

Tsunade felt him try to pull her into his dimension and poured chakra into all of the muscles in her arms. She grabbed him with her free hand and practically ripped his arm off when she threw him over her shoulder. By the time she pivoted to see where he was going to land, he was gone again.

His voice rang, "In time, however, the memories can be subdued and my body restores. If that fails, I simply exterminate what hinders me. The pain of killing your loves ones is just enough to smother some souls. But shinobi are such heartless beings that there are hardly ever any connections for me to sever."

Tsunade pulsed with fury, "WHERE ARE YOU!"

"It taught me important things about the strength of a shinobi. Connection is useless. And that is how I raised Root as Danzou—"

Out of twisted curiosity, she reluctantly focused on his diatribe in stillness, waiting for it to be over.

"Soldiers without emotion, perfect tools with no attachments. Danzou was the last soul I ever took. He became my ticket back into Fire Country. A promising shinobi and peer of the Third Hokage—his malice towards Konoha called to me. I returned in his stead. It didn't take much to fudge the details with genjutsu and adjust the memories of those who knew his real face. Transitioning into his life was almost too easy."

There was a pause and Tsunade anticipated another attack.

He emerged calmly out of the smoke and walked straight toward her.

"You asked me why keep such a dangerous, detailed file. Now that you have a better grasp on _what_ I am, I feel that you might already understand the answer:

"I kept that file as a constant reminder of my goal. I have tampered with genjutsu to such a great extent that I have ceasedto be just one person. I am… no one. I don't want to _be _anyone. Yet, my thoughts get… muddied. But don't go thinking that you've stopped me by taking it away from me. I am so close to ending it all that my mind is clearer than ever. No matter how much they fight, these souls will be trapped inside the illusion forever. Unlike Orochimaru, who forced himself into his vessels, we are united inside my mind. I become all that they were. Their life-force will provide me with enough vitality to command this country through a _century_. Imagine a century of peace. And the world _will _follow me. Just as Uchiha Itachi became the scapegoat Danzou needed to get a foothold in this village, I will use _you_ and your pathetic followers to gain the trust of all nations." He peered down his nose at her, "You may believe that you have won because that file is loose. The thing you underestimate is the weakness of humanity. Say anything with confidence, and people will believe you. In the end, truth is a relative term."

Tsunade roared as she rushed at him. Madara did not move, but held up his hands to catch her again. She could feel the swirling energy of his dimensional jutsu pulling her in, but stubbornness kept her from retreating.

Just before her swelled fist collided with him, an plan struck.

The moment her skin touched his, she felt the world spin.

Her feet started to slip off the ground as she called out:

"RANSHINSHOU!"

A charge of electricity filled her body and expanded into Madara's nervous system through their contact. The world wavered then abruptly became solid around them.

Madara's face transformed from victory into unbridled fury.

Tsunade's other hand was still drawn back and she launched him into the cliffside with a merciless punch.

His body was lost temporarily in the shadow of rubble. Tsunade took a shaky step. She felt the swirling in her stomach and shook her head violently to erase the nausea.

Madara plunged from the cliffside, battered and covered in dust.

He laughed wildly in anger, "Your fight to win—your stubbornness to lose—is almost admirable. However… a trapped animal is always vicious and unpredictable when it faces its last moments, and that panicked struggle is too pathetic to be celebrated."

Tsunade cracked her knuckles, "I've had about enough of you."

Madara let his head hang, hiding a slight smile.

The Hokage charged her hand, ready to snap his neck and end it all for good.

As she brushed his skin, Madara grabbed Tsunade and snapped that wrist back.

A blade, hidden in the rubble, shot up under Tsunade's ribcage and through her lung and heart.

He ripped it out and shoved the motionless kunoichi back.

Tsunade stared into his eye as she wheezed, "Bya—….kugou…"

Her body tipped backward and she crumpled on the ground.

"Tsunade…" Madara looked down on her, flexing his hand and arm. "I'm sure that jutsu was meant to do more to me than it did. It seems you didn't get a very good grip on me."

She sputtered, spraying blood into the air only to pepper her face with red.

"You should have run away. Then maybe you could have lived."

Her eyes, though cloudy, were vicious. "N…never."

"Stubborn until the very end." He knelt down beside her and shut his eyes, listening to her blood pumping. "Don't leave this world so bitter. Know that it will be safer in my hands. I will use the bijuu's power to create a genjutsu strong enough to envelop the world. Through the moon's eye, no one will ever suffer war again. No human will challenge peace. Know that the world is entering a new age, all thanks to your village. And I will never let it end." He leaned in close, whispering coldly, "This is my answer. This is the _only_ answer."

Tsunade's breath was shallow. Madara was surprised she was able to hold on. She truly was an exceptional medic.

"For, I am _everything_ and, therefore, nothing."

He leaned in to her ear, feeling her shredded heart's last fluttering thump.

"I am void. I am God."

The only sound on the street was the occasional crackle of fire.

Madara stayed down, near her face.

Something inside of him was moving again. A rumble of regret.

"You fought for your brother once. You fought for your… people… When did that change?"

Madara's eyes snapped open and he tried to pull back, but he was too late.

Tsuande's hand stabbed him through the chest, just has he had done to her.

His eyes were wide, "_Y-you should be dead!_"

Tsunade's face was gaining color. From her forehead, a winding purple seal spread across her body. There was a slight sizzling coming from her chest.

"It took a while to kick in. I thought I was a goner." Tsunade coughed and grunted at the severe pain.

Madara could almost feel the tremors in her heart and sneered, "It looks like you weren't quick enough. Even a medic like you can't rebuild an organ out of nothing."

His enthusiasm bit back when he convulsed, realizing the damage she had dealt him. He coughed blood and spat it furiously aside.

Tsunade looked smug. "You're right. But I had just enough life in me to return the favor."

Madara jerked away and grabbed the gaping hole, pressing fabric into the wound.

The Hokage's hand dropped heavily to the ground as she laughed breathily.

"Does it hurt, Madara? I wonder if you can heal a heart with all those souls you've got inside you."

Madara stomped on Tsunade's chest and dug his heel into her.

"Shut up, you filth. You still underestimate me."

A scraggly voice drew away his attention, "Madara!"

Once again Zetsu appeared from the rock wall.

The man, still in the guise of Danzou, turned. "What now, Zetsu."

His temper was crisp and Zetsu hesitated to answer.

"Pain failed. The Juubi was unstable to begin with. When Pain was defeated, the bijuu were released. The Ichibi was reabsorbed by the Kazekage, but the other demons have scattered. The surviving army is headed here."

Zetsu was startled by Tsunade's breathy chuckle. "What? Were you planning on becoming the ultimate Jinchuuriki? Too bad that didn't work out for you."

Madara stormed over and kicked her off the ground. She burst out in an aggrieved laugh as she curled to one side.

"That's the problem with headstrong views like yours, Tsunade. You never think ahead; you never consider all the options. In moments of crisis, one must learn to be flexible."

He prodded her face with his foot and considered smashing her head under it.

"Flexible?" Tsunade glared up at him, "I know a cornered animal when I see one."

Madara flared at her taunt and started to crush her cheek bone.

He hissed at Zetsu, "Prepare our army."

Zetsu nodded and sunk into the wall.

Madara pivoted back from Tsunade and looked around at the village. "If you had submit command to me before this war began, the village might have been spared. Are you happy now, Tsunade?"

She didn't answer him. Her consciousness was fading.

Before she could think of a snarky remark, Madara was gone.

She wanted to sit up, but she didn't have the strength.

Gradually, something under her was heating up. She rolled on her back and reached in her weapon pouch.

She pulled out the strangely shaped kunai she had received as a gift. It burned in her hand.

"That little toad was fast…"

She wondered fuzzily if she had enough time to rest before he arrived.

She had earned some rest.

She smiled at the idea of her life being worth regaling—worth the attention of Jiraiya and his gallant tales.

With Jiraiya's face in her mind, she drifted to sleep.

…

The rain in Konoha was cold.

Kakashi's feet hit solid ground. He was kneeling, eyes closed, body catching up to his stomach.

He was not as accustomed to the transportation jutsu as his sensei had been.

His hand rested on the hot kunai and he opened his blurry eyes gradually.

He saw the hand beneath the kunai and came to his senses.

He grabbed that hand and forearm to feel for a pulse. The wrist was broken but he could feel the slight murmur of her heart against his thumb.

"Tsunade!"

The kunoichi was not moving.

"_Tsunade!_"

Kakashi looked at her wounds.

"Why haven't you healed yourself?"

The mark on her forehead was gone.

Her hand seemed to shrivel inside his.

"_TSUNADE!_"

Her weak eyes opened.

"T-took you long… enough."

Kakashi scrambled to put pressure on her wound and stop the bleeding.

"D-did you read… th- letter?"

"Stop talking."

Tsunade tried to wave him off. "Kakashi… The Uchiha… Itachi was ordered to k-kill them… by the council and—…. and Danzou."

Kakashi's face was haggard, "That's enough!"

She started reaching for his face. "Itachi and… Sasuke. Madara needs the bijuu… H-he needs… S-Sasu…ke. He— he's going to—… He said he has an a-army. He's… You have to kill him."

Her fingers touched beside his eye and she froze.

The chakra… was the same.

"K-Kakashi. Y—…. You have to kill… him. He… has their souls. Uchiha—"

He roared in her face as he struggled to perform basic medical jutsu. "Stop talking!"

"—Obito."

He stopped.

"Obi…to…?"

"It's… too l-late. You have to stop him. He h-has their souls inside. He can live forever… B-but he's not immortal. If an o-old lady like—me… can… lay a hand on him, you c-can stop him."

"What are you saying."

"Didn't you r-read the stupid file?" Tsunade chortled, "You're so d-damned lazy."

She shuddered and let out a difficult sigh. Her eyes fluttered.

"Tsunade! Tsunade, stay with me!" Kakashi grabbed her, holding the hole in her chest.

"K…K-kill him… Kakashi."

He snatched up the kunai. "I'll get you help. Please, hold on!"

He didn't know if Tsunade would survive the transportation jutsu, but he couldn't save her by himself.

He gripped the kunai in his hand and suddenly they were on dry ground.

A sea of faces formed around them lit by the small campfires they had built.

Kakashi and Tsunade's drenched bodies shocked them all.

"GET HELP!"

Gaara stood over them with the searing kunai in his hand.

Medics with skilled hands ran to her. The others watched Tsunade in silence.

"I'm so glad…. I-I'm so glad you—" She looked at their familiar faces with a smile. "You're alive… I—"

Kakashi didn't have the heart to tell her to stop.

The medics removed their hands and stepped back.

It was clear there was nothing they could do.

"I… I wish I could have s—…" She lurched and her voice cut out.

Her village watched helplessly.

"I wish— seen Jiraiya… t-told him—… I loved him."

"TSUNADE!"

The whole world stopped.

Tsunade took in a sharp breath.

That voice.

It was impossible.

His voice.

It was _his_ voice.

"J-ji…"

The tears came tumbling down her face.

"Jiraiya—!"

She searched with her failing sight.

The crowd cleared and there he was.

White hair glowing with the fires.

Tired. He was leaning on the shoulder of a wide-eyed Hinata.

Alive.

Still standing.

He ran to her and Kakashi moved away.

"Tsunade."

Jiraiya brushed the hair from her face.

"…dead…" She stared in awe. "Y-you were—"

He nodded, "Yeah. But I'm here now."

She smiled up at him. "I-I c-can't think of… wha—… to say."

Jiraiya smirked back, "Liar."

Tsunade couldn't help but smile back.

Then something hit her. Her face changed to sadness. "I—… I brought war. Kono…ha… is l-lost." She looked at Gaara apologetically. "I dr-ragged you int-to my fight…"

Gaara knelt beside them. "We are comrades always. Suna fights for Konoha, just as you would for us. There is nothing to apologize for."

There were echoes of agreement throughout the crowd.

He bowed his head to her. "You defended your people when their leaders betrayed their freedom. You protected the soul of your village. Without it, there would be no hope left for us."

Tsunade's blond brows scrunched together, fighting happy tears.

Kakashi held strong behind Gaara, "We will live, Tsunade. Without a doubt. And we will never give up."

The crowd cheered with him.

"Listen to your people!" Jiraiya beamed at her. "You are one hell of a Hokage!"

She coughed as she tried to laugh.

The shinobi were silent once more.

Her hand reached for Jiraiya's face.

He saw in her eyes that she was out of time.

Jiraiya took her outstretched hand and put it to his lips.

"You are one _hell_ of a woman." He leaned in and gently kissed her cheek. "And I love you."

Her body was jerking.

"You sure a-are per-sistent." She laughed breathily. "Thanks, I… guess."

He hugged her close and she looked over his shoulder at the people surrounding them. The brightest and bravest, the youth of Konoha had gathered. Hinata, Shikamaru, Neji. Their teams, and their allies from Suna were watching her.

She hummed softly. "Th-thank you."

The pain was fading fast.

"Thank… you."

Her body went lax in Jiraiya's arms.

Her face was calm. Eyes—half closed—looked ahead into a pleasant dream.

There was a slight smile on her lips.

Kakashi lowered down to his knees and bowed his head at the Hokage.

One by one, each shinobi sank down in a bow and said their farewells to their leader.

Jiraiya gingerly set her down and followed suit.

He clenched his fists against his knees.

Soundless tears soaked into the dirt.

"Goodbye, Tsunade."

Their Hokage had been fighting alone for so long.

Finally she could rest.

Kakashi, Gaara, and Jiraiya watched the medics take away her body.

The multitude followed after her.

Not many saw the fierce look in Kakashi's eye.

"Give me that file, Gaara."

The Kazekage looked curiously at the shinobi.

He muttered bitterly to himself, "The Hokage has entrusted me with an important mission." He then stared at Gaara with determination. "I will need your help."

"What's happening?"

Shikamaru stepped up to Kakashi, handing him the legacy of Tsunade and perhaps the secret to winning the coming battle. He took the heavy file in his hand.

"It's time to reclaim Konoha."

From behind, Kiba appeared. His stomach was covered in a bandage where he had been stabbed by Pain, but he looked as enthused as ever. "Count me in!"

Hinata, Tenten, and Shino joined as well.

Tenten resisted the temptation to smack Kiba down, "You've just recovered!"

Chouji stepped up with Lee and Neji, and peacefully defended, "We're all a little banged up, I'd say."

Kankurou and Temari came to support Gaara.

The Kazekage hesitated.

Jiraiya pounded him on the back saying, "I'll handle the mess here. There are more pressing matters for you to attend to."

Kankurou added, "I'll stay with the village. So, go."

Kakashi grinned at the assembled party.

"This is more help that I was anticipating."

He grasped the file firmly and commanded, "Arm yourselves for battle."

The team dispersed to stock up on weapons, receive final treatment from medics, and say their farewells.

Jiraiya and Kankurou prepared the remaining shinobi to start the trek back to Suna.

Soon the carnage of Ame would be cleared.

The war was moving back to the home field.

All the while, Kakashi delved into the twisted history of the Uchiha.

The name that resounded inside of him was a name that had never been far from his thoughts.

Uchiha Obito.

* * *

Itachi's eye felt whole again as it finally recovered from using the Amaterasu on Kisame's corpse.

The rain had soaked his cloak. He sat up and rested his arms on his knees.

He heard Sasuke's footsteps on the roof.

Slowly Itachi lifted his head and looked at his brother standing yards from him. It had been years since he had seen Sasuke at such a close distance.

He looked less like the child he remembered and much more like a man.

Sasuke looked on his brother as well. Itachi was aged. His eyes were sunken and his posture suggested how worn down he was. But the sharpness of Itachi's gaze had not diminished; neither had the raw power vibrating off of him.

Sasuke did not feel any more confident in winning their upcoming battle after observing his enemy's fatigue. Itachi was still very capable of killing him.

"It's been a while, Sasuke. You look stronger."

Sasuke slowed to a stop and calmly responded, "I am."

"I wonder what you've sacrificed to become so. When a person becomes strong, they become consumed with that power even if they gained it in pursuit of their dreams."

The younger brother looked down slightly, remembering something pleasant, and answered, "Perhaps."

That's how he may have been in the past. But somewhere on his twisted path, he felt a change. He had been warped by Orochimaru, by despair, and by the constant hate boiling inside of him. The weight of those years and the effect they had on Sasuke could never be erased, but somehow he felt liberated from those feelings.

_Weren't you ever curious why only the Uchiha were targeted?_

The questions he had never honestly considered were flying all around him.

_Why would Itachi leave you alive?_

There were answers he was suddenly desperate to find. Things he had ignored from his past that were being freshly uncovered. Doubt lingered in the air.

_There has to be a reason!_

Had he become stronger? Really? Had he changed at all in all of those years of searching for revenge? As a warrior, yes. His physical strength had progressed; his ability on the battlefield was unmatched.

But as a man? He hadn't felt any change in his soul all that time. Nothing existed inside of him but revenge… It tugged at his heart, begging to be relieved.

He had abandoned everything else…

Or so he thought.

In the past months of struggle, he had rediscovered a feeling he had long forgotten:

Happiness.

_We're still here._

Itachi stood.

The brothers were locked in place.

_What if it's nothing like you've been told._

Itachi spoke, "Every single one of us goes through life depending on and bound by our individual knowledge and awareness. We call it reality." He began walking. Sasuke countered, circling around the edge of the roof. "However, both knowledge and awareness are equivocal. One's reality might be another's illusion. In short, we all live inside our own fantasies. Don't you think?"

_I don't understand why the Hokage didn't do anything to stop him…_

Itachi slid his katana out, holding it so the tip hovered an inch off the ground as he walked.

_Everyone is trying to hide what happened to you and Itachi and the Uchiha clan._

Sasuke armed himself with two kunai. What ate at Sasuke more than the oncoming battle was the poisonous tongue that bore the voice of his once beloved brother.

"That night… when you killed our family. At first, I could only process it as a nightmare." He pressed his lips together.

_Itachi was a tool, held ransom by his hatred of war._

The echoes of his family's death cries plagued his mind.

He forced his breathing to calm down, letting it hit low in his belly. "I desperately wanted to believe I was trapped in some horrible genjitsu. But there is no mistake, I was trapped in reality. It doesn't matter what reasons you may have had," Itachi's gaze shifted. "…you killed our parents before my eyes."

Sasuke didn't miss the subtle shock in Itachi's face.

_You lived with him every day._

He didn't miss the slight hesitation in Itachi's hands.

_You saw every side of him._

Sasuke's face released the angry tension and stared into the shape of Itachi's face. Every detail was a piece of a memory, every inch of Itachi had a story that he had shared with Sasuke.

_You know him better than anyone._

Running through the grass, fleeing from watchful parents, exploring the ghost town, searching for legend.

_Nii-san…_

Locked in a sacred place. Trapped behind heavy doors. Child's hands were not strong enough to break free.

_Sasuke?_

The small stature of a boy, a role model, a hero. He was hunched over, hands on his knees, exasperated from running.

_Sasuke!_

That smile. That laugh. Hiding tears and worry behind a strong front.

_You found him!_

Itachi.

_I'm sorry, Sasuke._

The pride, the desperation, the control, the shaking air around his brother was unmistakable. He knew this man. He had known this man before the world knew him. He had known this man before he knew himself.

"And what do you see now with those eyes?"

_I'm sorry, Sasuke._

"You, Itachi, dead at my feet."

_I'm sorry, Sasuke._

"You told me once that you were the obstacle I had to overcome. You have been my goal for so much of my life that I cannot imagine what my world would be like if… if everything I've believed up until now has been a lie."

Itachi stopped walking and faced Sasuke head on. His eyes were glowing with the Sharingan. The blood and ink swirling inside his chakra flare, feeling the threat.

It was almost like Itachi had done it on purpose, to awaken Sasuke's instincts.

Itachi stated with a dead tone, "I don't care what your reality is—what you've believed to be fact. What I see before me now is this battle. If you do not fight, you are going to die here, Sasuke. That is the only fact you need concern yourself with."

Sasuke smirked, feeling his rage rising again. Itachi would regret riling him up.

With four small words two brothers launched into their final battle.

"Let's get to it."

The clash of metal awoke Sasuke's senses. The sound moved slower than their hands. Kunai and katana flickered, pushing them both back to skid on the gathered water.

The rain was almost beyond their notice.

The elements had no place in their fight anymore.

Sasuke's hands, tamed by the peaceful moments with Sakura, were brought back to life. Warrior's hands. Callused by metal and rock. Painted with endless death.

They collided again, Sasuke snapped his wrist and his kunai shot at Itachi's neck who caught it with one finger in the ring and flipped it into his control. Sasuke used the distraction to curl his second kunai around the handle of Itachi's katana and strong-arm it out of his enemy's hands.

Sasuke blocked a kick from Itachi with his forearm and lost his last kunai.

He swung the katana in his hand, spinning it to bring it down on Itachi's head. Itachi blocked with both kunai and flung Sasuke off balance for an instant.

Sasuke caught himself with one hand and sent a powerful kick to Itachi's stomach.

Itachi hopped off the ground and landed a little ways away.

The water splashed as he sprinted back again.

Sasuke met him with both hands on the sword. He pushed one kunai away and caught Itachi's wrist with a speedy hand. He let the katana drop and Itachi was forced to abandon his kunai in order to block Sasuke's right hook.

"_Katon: Goukyaku no Jutsu!_"

Itachi did not see when Sasuke managed to do hand seals, but the sudden fire jutsu springing from his mouth was unexpected.

He spun out of his brother's grip and flung off his burning cloak.

From within the shadow of flying fabric, Itachi formed seals and muttered:

"_Katon: Housenka no Jutsu!_"

A barrage of fire balls pushed Sasuke back.

"_Kyuuzou Hoshi!_"

In a burst of light and flame, Itachi's attack vanished.

Sasuke came out of the smoke with Itachi's katana.

"_Honou O Fuyo._"

As Sasuke moved his hand across the metal it lit.

The flaming blade sizzled in the downpour.

Itachi parried back, striking back the weapon with shuriken uselessly.

Itachi ducked and rolled away from Sasuke's swings until he had a second to form seals.

"_Housenka Tsumabeni!_"

He flung out half a dozen shuriken and they ignited.

Fire against fire, Sasuke knocked them away with more difficulty than before. Itachi continued to bombard him, circling until Sasuke was against the edge of the building.

"_Katon: Gouka Mekkyaku!_"

Sasuke was launched off the roof with the blast of fire.

He spun in the air, grabbing the wall of the building with a chakra laced hand. He sprinted up the wall when the fire cut out.

Coming over the lip of the roof, Sasuke sliced the sword over his head and the fire extended like a whip. It lashed out at Itachi and he dodged.

Sasuke threw the sword, but it was dodged.

The flames crackled beside Itachi, and then suddenly went out. A thick plume of smoke followed. As Itachi was enveloped he saw Sasuke staring at him with deadly eyes.

In the darkness of the rapidly dissipating cloud, Itachi felt static pricking in the rain.

He saw the massive shuriken just in time to bend under it.

He was almost too late to evade the second shuriken hidden in the shadow.

Itachi had no choice but to flip between the two.

As he spun midair, he saw thin wires connected to them that lead back to Sasuke.

Just as he realized the danger, Sasuke ripped out the trigger and both shuriken exploded, sending the blades in every direction.

One struck Itachi's shoulder as he was looking back in shock.

He hit the ground and quickly reached to pull out the blade. His body felt slightly numb.

Sasuke had charged the shuriken with a lightening jutsu.

"_Chidori Eisou._"

A spear of light shot through him as he knelt there.

Instantly, Itachi broke apart in dozens of crows.

Sasuke searched the clearing smoke, but he wasn't on the roof anymore.

_He was standing in his old home, watching the blood drain from his mother and father._

_The image slowly went in reverse, their parents rose and Itachi stood behind them._

_Their father's voice resounded in the room. "Don't hesitate. It's the path you chose."_

"_Itachi…. Promise me that—"_

_The floor was suddenly clean and Sasuke was sitting with Itachi, observing how he turned his wrist while handling a shuriken._

_The ring of laughter was warm and painful to hear._

_The image changed and Sasuke, a shattered child, ran through a street of corpses._

_The flicker of a dark mask. One red eye._

_What was that?_

"_Call for Danzou."_

"_I'm sure you want to protect the village…"_

"…_Use an elite… take out the… clan…..."_

_A ragged old man, bandages covering one eye._

"_We absolutely must stop the coup."_

_The two images flashed back and forth, melding into that black hole of the mask._

"_I'll come for Konoha later. But for tonight, I'll be satisfied with the Uchiha."_

_Konoha. All of it was in flames._

_Sasuke stepped back into himself and stared at Itachi._

_Itachi seemed perturbed._

_Sasuke's concentration within Itachi's subconscious was a little too sharp. Illusion was blending with reality._

_Something clicked in Sasuke's memory._

_A question he had been reluctant to ask._

"Yes?_"_

_Itachi was waiting._

"I know there is another living Uchiha. Who… is it?_"_

_The flames swirled and the village crumbled around them._

_Itachi was like a mirage._

"Why are you concerned?_"_

_Sasuke's response was filled with venom. "_When I'm done with you, I'm going after him next._"_

_Itachi looked slightly amused._

_From the shadows of the fire, Sasuke watched the mask appear._

_From the ground at Sasuke's feet, Itachi watched a shadow grow larger. Slithering and corrosive._

"Uchiha Madara, one of the founders of Konoha and the first to awaken the Mangekyo Sharingan._"_

_ Sasuke glared at first, agitated that Itachi might be playing with him. "_A founder? How could he still be alive?_"_

_ "_Madara is alive. Whether you believe me or not is your choice._"_

_ Sasuke felt dizzy. His body started falling backwards and the world drifted away._

_ He felt cold fingers on his face and opened his eyes. Itachi was before him. Poised fingers were closing in on Sasuke's eye._

_ "_The Mangekyo Sharingan are very special eyes. From the moment they awaken, they continuously progress towards darkness._" Itachi pressed his fingers against the lids of Sasuke's eye. Panic rocketed through him, but his body could not move. "_The more you use them, the sooner they become sealed. Blindness. That is the price of obtaining the power to control the bijuu. However, there is a way to revive the Sharingan and restore sight._"_

_ Sasuke, frozen by the illusion and by fear, could not help but listen._

"Obtain new eyes._"_

_He resisted, feeling a small grip on reality forming._

_ "_Madara, he took in his brother's eyes and gained enough power to tame the Kyuubi. He has uncovered the ultimate power of the Sharingan._"_

_ Itachi plunged into Sasuke's eye socket._

"We, Sasuke… we are each other's spares_."_

_Sasuke roared, pressing against Itachi's hand. He poured all of his attention into the sensation in his eye and, knowing none of it was real, he was able to break from the illusion._

_ Sasuke was alone standing in their house again._

_ "Every single one of us goes through life depending on and bound by our individual knowledge and awareness," Itachi's voice merged with their mother's and father's. "…and we call it reality."_

_ The house came to life. Mother fixing food, father sitting stoically at the table, Sasuke regaling the lessons he had learned, and Itachi watching him with an amused face._

_ The murmur of happiness echoed._

_Naruto and Kakashi's voices joined. "However, both knowledge and awareness are equivocal."_

_The image altered, Sasuke's illusionary body morphed a few years older._

_He was sitting between Naruto and Sakura on the bridge. Naruto was making a fool of himself and Sakura was reprimanding him. Their sensei appeared out of nowhere and began apologizing. Sakura scolded him too. They all stood and started walking away._

_They started to separate. Kakashi's path became filled with destruction. A single Sharingan loomed over him. The red veins spoiled the ground._

_A strange light enveloped Naruto. He and Itachi appeared together. Itachi stared back at Sasuke. The shining power coming from Naruto singed Sasuke as he reached angrily after them._

_Like they had caught fire, Kakashi and Naruto and Itachi dissolved in smoke. Sakura followed behind the young Sasuke, her body shaking. She reached out to him with tears in her eyes._

_Her mouth moved, but no voice came out._

_Then the illusion went black._

_Kabuto pierced Sasuke's ears and drowned out the others. "One's reality might be another's illusion."_

_Flashes of war, blood, years of life under Orochimaru. Darkness and hate that scalds and scars._

_Sasuke stood in the middle of the nightmare._

_The sky turned red and he was in the world of Tsukuyomi._

_Sasuke watched over and over all of the deaths of his family. He watched his own hands splash in blood as he killed over and over. All of the lives he was responsible for._

_The sky grew cloudy._

_ All of it faded leaving Itachi's low rumbling and the light, inquisitive melody of Sakura's voice._

"_We all live inside our own fantasies, don't you think?"_

_The bizarre compassion in those words threw Sasuke into confusion._

_Enraged by the illusions, he felt heat under his skin._

Muscling his way out of the illusion, Sasuke brought his attention back to the sensation of rain. He threw back his head and bellowed:

"ENOUGH!"

The power crawling under his skin was released in a large pulse.

The roof cracked under his feet and the chakra tore through the structure.

There was a second of silence before the building erupted, the dark expulsion of chakra taking half the roof.

…

The rain was pouring down her face and she stuck to the wall, seated attentively in the tall grass and mud. Her feet were sinking slowly. The sound of the rain and grass fluttering around her was soothing, almost blotting out the sounds of clashing weapons and searing fire.

Almost.

Vibrations from the battle radiated through Sakura. Her core was churning. The chakra of the Kyuubi was burning her insides, following the fluctuation of power coming from Sasuke and Itachi.

Then there was stillness not long into the battle.

Sakura searched the roof, but there was no movement.

Had Sasuke been defeated? Was Itachi dead?

The battle had hardly begun. Were the results that imminent?

The chakra churning inside her recoiled. She grabbed her stomach.

Then it erupted.

Simultaneously, as the chakra sent agonizing pulses through her, another chakra from above released and destroyed the roof.

Rubble came shooting down and Sakura leapt away to avoid it.

She saw Sasuke plummet amongst the pillar of dust. The water that had been draining off the roof had surrounded the building in mud and the wreckage rapidly sank into the softened earth.

Sakura was searching for Sasuke in the dust when Itachi landed in front of her.

He peered at her over his shoulder.

Sakura pushed off the ground to retreat.

Itachi was smart to not turn his full attention from Sasuke because he came barreling out of the debris right at Itachi.

"_Chidori Nagashi!_"

Sasuke's body exploded with electric chakra. His body flickered away.

Itachi turned his eyes across the open space with Sharingan.

Sasuke reappeared beside Itachi, grabbed his arm, and flung him back towards the building.

Itachi hit a still standing wall and held onto his forearm. The skin was severely burned and the lightening chakra coursing through him fried his nerves.

Sasuke stuck himself protectively between Sakura and Itachi.

Sakura could see how exhausted he was. His chakra was disturbed and she knew right away that he had broken from a genjutsu.

Itachi was panting right along with Sasuke.

Sasuke's escape from the genjutsu had depleted Itachi greatly. The mental disruption was almost evident on his face. Sasuke had battled him the whole way, digging up images and breaking out of the planned illusion from the beginning.

Sakura saw Itachi gathering chakra in his eye as he closed it, but Sasuke was too late to notice what was happening.

Itachi's eye shed bloody tears.

Sasuke almost sprinted out of the way, but realized Sakura was behind him.

"Sakura, RUN!"

Sakura saw Itachi open the eye.

"_Amaterasu._"

Black flames leapt out at Sasuke and Sakura.

She ran.

Sasuke barely managed to avoid touching the fire.

He formed seals and aimed at Itachi. "_Katon: Gouryuuka no Jutsu!_"

Dragon heads of flame shot at Itachi. He leapt to avoid them, but the Amaterasu did not stop. The powerful chakra filled attacks missed and flew into the sky.

Sasuke launched the powerful, chakra filled attacks at him and continually missed. They flew into the sky.

The Amaterasu caught on the grass and spread, sending smoke into the air.

The steam surrounding the structure was increasing.

Sakura was on a roof across the clearing, watching helplessly.

Sasuke tried to find another way back to higher ground, but the flames had caught up to him.

Sasuke's eyes widened.

His red iris lost the spinning tomoe and his pupil shuddered. It expanded and pressed tightly into a thin black slit.

"_ITACHI!_"

He was swallowed.

Sakura watched him vanish under the sea of black.

She fell to her knees, hands outstretched.

Her fingers, her hands, her bones were shaking.

"No."

She hunted for a sign of life.

"No. NO! SASUKE!"

She stepped onto the edge of the roof and felt the heat on her face.

"_NOOOO!_"

The flames consumed her voice, igniting her hate and sadness.

Desperate.

He could not be dead.

He could not…

Be…

Dead.

"_SASUKE!_"

An explosion more powerful than she had ever felt before went off in the clearing.

The Amaterasu was blown away.

In the center of the crater was Sasuke.

He was curled in. His skin was stained with black chakra.

He struggled to stand. The black ink is quivering all over his body.

Itachi observed with all-seeing eyes.

"That is an interesting power you have. But it isn't yours, is it?"

Sasuke was panting strongly now. The chakra withdrew and he collapsed a little in relief.

"My Sharingan knows you are out of chakra, Sasuke. You used it all to escape the Amaterasu."

Sasuke lifted his head. "You're right. This will be my final jutsu, one way or the other."

Itachi's eyes narrowed.

Sasuke leapt to the highest point of the structure across from Itachi. He lifted one hand and took a deep breath.

Sakura felt the hairs rise on the back of her neck.

She looked up.

There was light coming out of the ceaseless rumbling in the clouds.

Then all around her, pillars of light struck the ground.

The heat rising from their battle had heightened the violence of the storm.

"This jutsu's power source is lightening from heaven itself. All I have to do is guide it."

Sasuke twisted his hand and the strikes to the ground stopped.

Above them, the weaving of lightening was united.

Sasuke had tamed the sky.

The light moved higher and higher, out of their sight.

"Disappear with the thunder…"

Itachi and Sakura stared in horror as the lightening burst from the clouds in the shape of a gigantic demon.

_What if everyone is wrong. What will you do?_

"_KIRIN!_"

The flash blinded them all.

The remainder of the building and those around it were blown away by the unavoidable strike of light.

Sakura was knocked back and blacked out.

The incessant ringing of her ears drew her back to consciousness first.

She picked herself off the ground, gradually gaining her other senses.

It was clear that only a few seconds had passed.

Half of the building she had been standing on was gone. She lurched to the edge and searched for Sasuke and Itachi.

Sasuke was at the base of the ruins. Across the field, crumpled in the mud, was Itachi.

"It's over…"

His Sharingan faded away.

"It's all over…"

Sasuke let out a sigh. The twisted feelings inside of him had not dissipated. He stared at the sky with just as much hate as before.

The dark energy in the pit of his stomach was still there.

Abruptly there was an impact near Itachi.

Sasuke jerked to attention and looked for the source.

There was nothing but the residual splash of water.

He waited completely on edge. Then there was another.

Sasuke saw it this time.

Something came into existence there, where the two impacts had happened.

"Sasuke… You've become very strong."

Thick bones of chakra formed, then tendons and muscles, then skin. Starting with palms on the ground and spiraling into arms and shoulders.

Ribs formed around Itachi's fallen form.

He rose.

Sasuke staggered back.

"Now the battle is over."

He saw pain shoot across his brother's face and Itachi coughed violently. Itachi covered his mouth and sputtered blood.

Blood dripped off his chin.

A skull took shape on the spectral creation and was wrapped with a cloak, hiding its eyes in the shadows.

"This is the Susano'o. The power of an awakened Sharingan."

In the black of his mind, Sasuke could feel Orochimaru rousing. His worn-out state was giving Orochimaru room to come alive.

Sasuke's curse seal spread and his skin turned gray. His hair extended and bleached out.

That other presence behind the curse seal was dancing. It was swelling with elation.

Sasuke grabbed his shoulder.

Just like in the battle with Kabuto, he felt foreign chakra filling his limbs.

The seal on his neck pulsed again. The gray on his skin was eaten by tendrils of black.

His eyes, unable to maintain the Sharingan, changed.

They lit up with red. Animalistic and deadly.

Itachi was coming closer.

Sasuke could feel it.

But he couldn't see.

He wasn't watching the outside.

He was trapped, staring into the eyes of a white snake struggling to escape.

"_LET ME OUT!_"

Sasuke grabbed his head.

"_LET ME OUT!_"

Red eyes opened to the sky and Sasuke's curse seal burst.

Scales and flesh were born from him, shooting high in the air.

Sasuke still couldn't grasp consciousness.

His blackened body was growing numb.

Acidic purple chakra oozed out after the white snake.

His skin started draining of color.

All of his power was flowing into the snake's body.

The serpent opened its mouth.

From inside the snake, Orochimaru reared his head.

He cackled. "Finally, I'm FREE!"

He dug his hand into his throat and pulled out a katana.

"I will take over Sasuke's body and be reborn—!"

From the gourd in the Susano'o's hand, a blade was born. The giant specter wielded it and stabbed into Orochimaru's body.

"You really think a cut like this will be enough to stop me—?"

Itachi glared and the Susano'o started pulling the blade back into the gourd. Orochimaru's body was dragged along with it.

"This is the sealing sword of Totsuka. This is the end for you, Orochimaru."

Orochimaru writhed and screeched. As he flailed the katana slipped from his grip and clattered on the ground.

In the center of the blade, close to the hilt, was a cracked hole.

The weight inside of Sasuke was lifted. The white snake, the black chakra, everything was tugged out of him and he was left empty.

He caught himself in the mud and forced his legs to support him.

Itachi took another step closer to Sasuke, unfazed by the defeat of Orochimaru.

"Alright, Sasuke… Got anything else?"

Sasuke searched around him desperately.

Under the rubble, Sasuke saw Itachi's katana.

Itachi twitched visibly and Sasuke saw his jutsu waver.

He grabbed the sword and rushed at his brother.

The Susano'o still blocked him and sent Sasuke flying into the rocks.

Sasuke got up and realized he was pinned between the remains of the building and the belly of the Susano'o.

"Eyes… Give me… your light."

Itachi hacked into his hand and more blood poured out. His lungs were on fire. His arm, shredded by Kisame's attacks and fried by Sasuke's lightening, was useless.

Without the Sharingan, he would have died long ago.

Itachi's world was blurry, almost completely black. But he could still feel Sasuke's presence with the Sharingan. He fell into each step, closer and closer to Sasuke.

_Is it wrong to want… a better future?_

Sasuke stared into Itachi's drained face. The blood dripping from his mouth. The rain running off his shoulders. His black hair covering his expression in shadow. Sasuke could see the blank stare. His brother was truly blind.

_Don't hesitate on the path you chose._

Itachi reached out with a bloody hand, two fingers extended.

_Itachi… Promise me that… you will take care of Sasuke._

His body wrecked with illness, his chakra depleted… life was draining out of Itachi.

He looked at his brother, not seeing defined features, not knowing what face he could be making.

Would Sasuke carry hate with him forever?

Would he find strength enough to break from the horrible world of shinobi?

Would he find happiness?

It hit him in that moment that he would never know the answers. And that it didn't matter anymore. He couldn't control the answers Sasuke would find for himself. He didn't need to.

_You don't have to forgive me._

He felt the world slipping away.

_No matter what you decide from now on… I will love you forever._

A sad smile spread across Itachi's face.

"I'm sorry, Sasuke… This is it."

His extended fingers tapped Sasuke's forehead.

His body hit the wall behind Sasuke.

He slid to the ground leaving a trail of blood across his brother's face and the rock.

Sasuke stood motionless.

The sounds of his breath and the rain were all that remained.

Uchiha Itachi was dead.

* * *

Next Chapter – Wake Me Up

…

A brother is a friend God gave you; a friend is a brother your heart chose for you.

_Unknown Proverb_


	16. Wake Me Up

Playlist: Heart's a Mess (Gotye), Cherry Tree (The National), Daisy (Brand New), On The Surface (Civil Twilight), She Spider (Mew), No Light, No Light (Florence + The Machine), Overdose (Hurt), No Bravery (James Blunt), and Skin to Bone (Linkin Park).

* * *

A brother is a friend God gave you; a friend is a brother your heart chose for you.

_Unknown Proverb_

* * *

…

Wake Me Up

…

* * *

Sasuke sank to his knees.

He was fixated on the man fallen in the mud.

He teetered and hit the ground.

The gray sky and rain all blended into one.

"Sasuke!"

Warm hands were on him, rolling him over.

Her fingers moved across his body with healing chakra.

Every muscle, every bone was pushed to the edge. It scared Sakura how close to death he was, yet he was so… clean…. What little remaining energy he had—just enough to keep him breathing—was untainted. It was as if he had been reborn.

"We need to get somewhere dry."

She pulled him up onto her back and peered at Itachi's body for only a moment.

He would have to wait.

Sakura walked through the streets until she came upon an undamaged house.

It was completely barren, but it had a roof.

She laid Sasuke on the cool ground. His head rolled in her arms.

She touched his face.

"Are you with me?"

She moved his hair out of the way and wiped away the water and blood.

He grabbed her.

Sakura gasped. His hand stuck to her and she was unable to break free.

His eyes were bloody and bright. The Sharingan inside swirled madly.

Six points spread from the center, creating a red star. The ink black lines stretched, surrounding his shrinking pupil. The Sharingan crystalized in this new shape. A shape Sakura had never seen before.

She rubbed her thumb across his skin.

"Sasuke?"

As he calmed down, the color faded, letting his eyes return to black.

She sighed, pulled free, and began healing him.

One bloody wound at a time. The broken bones. The torn muscles.

Sakura noted all the scars, old and new.

His body was a monument.

Every mark was made in the pursuit of one goal.

As if he had been thinking the same thing, he spoke.

"It's… over."

Sasuke lifted his hands so he could see and rotated them in the light. Seconds trickled by.

Empty. Cold hands.

He touched his forehead hesitantly where Itachi had. The line of blood from Itachi's fingers burned on his skin. He followed it, letting his cool fingers tame the sensation. He stopped halfway, realizing once more what he had done.

"I-I'm… Was I right?"

He stared at his fingers.

"I-I can't remember. I don't… I…"

He searched for the weight of his curse seal.

It was gone. Everything was gone.

"…finally over."

He smiled.

"It's gone… I'm… free."

He rubbed where the curse seal had been.

"And…" The smile faded.

Sakura could feel his pulse rising.

"He's dead."

She touched his hair, stroking him. "Sasuke. Sasuke, it's alright. Breathe."

His glazed eyes startled her, sightless.

"Itachi is… dead."

His arm dropped to his side and Sakura moved closer. She soothingly massaged his temple.

"Was I… right…?"

He was swallowed by shock. Was it happiness? Relief? She couldn't tell.

She placed her head against his and, as she pressed her lips into his hair, she whispered kindly, "Sleep."

He searched for her and, even after finding her face, he looked so confused.

"I… Was I…?"

She slowly encased his hands and put them to rest.

"It's okay. You can sleep now."

He fought against his exhaustion for a moment but, like the veil of a drug, sleep won him over.

His form slacked beneath her and his thoughts shut off.

Sakura exhaled.

Maybe in sleep, he could find some peace.

Maybe when he woke, he would see things more clearly.

She scooted to the wall and leaned there, playing mindlessly with his hair.

She rested her head against the sill of a broken window and started to follow Sasuke into sleep.

She was awoken by a familiar voice calling out.

"_Sasuke-kun!_"

Either Karin was too weak to spot them, or Sakura and Sasuke had no chakra left to track.

She didn't feel like yelling and just waited to be discovered.

Into the doorway walked Suigetsu.

The first thing she spotted was the blade slung across his shoulder. He scanned the room and was surprised to see Sakura and Sasuke in the dark corner.

He saw the battered Sasuke and asked timidly, "Is he—?"

Karin burst in, knocking Suigetsu. "Shut up! Of course he's not dead!"

She scanned Sasuke immediately and when she found nothing wrong she glared at Sakura.

_Here it comes_, she thought.

Karin opened her mouth to lecture, but instead let out an exasperated sigh. "You two are something else."

Sakura grinned. "I'm glad to see you, too. And in one piece."

Karin grumbled, "Barely! If Kisame hadn't formed a truce with us it'd be a different story."

"Kisame?"

Sakura glanced at Suigetsu, but he avoided eye contact.

Karin answered for him. "Root surrounded us. There was no way we would have been able to fend them off while avoiding cheap shots from Kisame. He was kind of in the same boat and… fatally injured from the start, I think."

Sakura teased, "I bet you made an interesting team."

Karin snickered. Then she looked sadly at Suigetsu who was posted up in the doorway. When he didn't look at her directly, she turned stubbornly to Sakura.

"Is there anything I can do for Sasuke?"

Sakura jumped, "Please, give him some of your chakra. He's running on empty."

Karin quickly complied. She opened Sasuke's mouth and placed her wrist over it.

"Bite down, Sasuke."

Still dreaming, Sasuke chomped.

Clearly they had been in similar situations before. Even when at rest, Sasuke was alert enough to listen to orders.

Sakura noticed Karin cringe as she shared her energy.

He finished and continued dozing.

She flexed her stiff fingers. "He was dangerously low. He's lucky he survived."

Sakura stared at his sleeping face, "I know. But it was worth it."

The three of them remained silent for a time, staring at him.

Sakura stood and invited Karin to take her place with Sasuke. She did and monitored him closely as he slept.

As Sakura walked past Suigetsu, he spoke.

"It really is over, isn't it."

Sakura didn't know how to answer him.

Then, like she had been struck by lightning, Sakura remembered something.

"What's wrong?"

She impulsively shot out of the house with Suigetsu and Karin calling after her.

Only now did she realize that night had fallen and finding her way through the settlement would be much more difficult.

She stumbled in the dark, panting. But she couldn't stop.

She saw the small field of grass and her heart started hammering in her chest. It had stayed intact. The road where the crow had landed before them, where they shared what they thought might be a last goodbye.

She ran around to the front of the structure, to the battlefield.

At last, she stopped.

She was panting, unable to calm herself.

Itachi.

He was lying in the mud.

Hesitantly, she moved closer.

He appeared to be only asleep.

She knelt beside him and touched his shoulder.

He was cold.

She knew what a fearsome thing he had been in life, but now he seemed so fragile. His shoulder felt so breakable.

His eyes were slightly open, void of Sharingan.

She could hear her name being called.

Suigetsu caught up to her and splashed to a halt.

Sakura lifted Itachi's arm and started to haul him onto her back.

Suigetsu quickly joined to help.

Together they carried him to the forest.

They placed him on the grass.

Sakura had no idea what compelled her to take Itachi away from that place.

Suigetsu on the other hand instinctively began gathering wood.

The rain was letting up. They would be able to start a fire if they found some dry timber.

Sakura stayed beside Itachi as Suigetsu's pile grew.

When he was finished he stood over her.

"Should we wake Sasuke?"

Suigetsu waited, but soon realized she wasn't going to answer.

He left her there with Itachi.

Now that he was harmless, Sakura couldn't turn away.

He looked so much like Sasuke.

"Was this… what you wanted?"

She touched his shoulder again and rubbed it with her thumb like she would with Sasuke.

"What happened to you and your family?"

She felt strangely sad.

Was the tragedy real? Was Itachi really all he had painted himself to be?

Was _this_ real?

"What is the truth?"

Sakura heard Suigetsu and the rest approaching.

The rain had stopped altogether.

She removed herself from Itachi and faced them.

Sasuke was on Suigetsu's back. He climbed down clumsily.

Sakura hurried to help him and they returned to Itachi's body together.

He stared at him for a long time, now that he had the chance.

Sakura watched Sasuke as thoughts tossing inside of him probably similar to her own.

"Sakura." He reached slowly to his face. "I need you to do something for me."

He placed his fingers above his eye.

Sakura remembered the transformed Sharingan.

"Itachi told me that these eyes—" He directed it meaningfully to Sakura. "—become sealed the more they are used."

Sasuke was aware of the change within himself. If his Mangekyou had truly awakened, there was no doubt his vision would fail over time.

"Give me Itachi's eyes."

Karin was instantly opposed, "Why!?"

Sasuke stared at Sakura. "He said we were each other's spares."

Karin shouted at him, "Why would you believe Itachi!? He probably told you that in case you won. He could have cursed his eyes!"

Sakura understood—if what Itachi said was true—why they needed each other's Sharingan. But…

What was Sasuke's goal now?

Everything had been erased.

Something in her hesitated.

This ambition… could she trust this new ambition?

What did she think would happen after this day?

In her mind, the world ended with this day. Sasuke was freed. Not only of his brother, but of Orochimaru's curse as well. Finally it could stop. The journey could stop.

She felt elation at the thought.

But what was Sasuke still pursuing?

What more was there to be done?

Sakura was brought out of her musings by Sasuke's piercing stare.

The determination and pride in his face made Sakura ashamed of herself.

What was she thinking?

How could she forget?

Naruto. Konoha. Tsunade.

Had she been so blinded by her relief?

How dare she forget?

There were people she still needed to protect.

There were battles she still needed to fight.

Until the day she paid her dues to her country and her comrades, she was a warrior.

With her purpose reaffirmed, she was met again by Sasuke's patient face.

"Can you do it?"

The resolution inside of him enveloped her.

She grinned. "Who do you think you're talking to?"

Karin moved to protest further, but Suigetsu stopped her.

Sakura remembered now.

The war was not over.

"Lie down next to Itachi. Karin, I'm going to need whatever sedatives you've got left. And soldier pills."

She started rummaging through Itachi's things and found a well-stocked pack. She nearly jumped for joy at the sight of bandages—real, sanitized bandages.

"You're not putting me under."

Sakura scoffed, "You'll pass out either way."

He glared. "I don't need them. Or the soldier pills."

"Really? Who is the doctor here?" She stood tall and put her hand on her hips. "I know a thing or two about the Sharingan thanks to Kakashi. I know that it sucked up quite a bit of his chakra to adapt the Sharingan to his body. And he took it from a _living_ person." Karin handed her the pills and Sakura shoved them at Sasuke. "Itachi's eyes are dead now. We have to bring them back to life. Who knows what will happen when we do."

Sasuke lifted a brow. He accepted the pills.

"You just sit back, Sasuke." Sakura smiled at him. "I know you trust me, so let me do my job."

Sasuke took the sedatives and soldier pills, and proceeded to lie beside his brother.

He studied his team working around him. They lit a fire close by and Itachi's face was illuminated.

Sasuke examined every feature. In death, Itachi resembled his younger self more than he had in years.

Sakura noticed what he was doing. "It's amazing… isn't it? He's so… human."

Sasuke didn't know how to respond.

Sakura's lips pulled tightly into an obligatory smile. She didn't really know how Sasuke felt about his brother now that he was gone.

"When we're done—" She glanced at the fire, "—do you want us to wait for you to wake up?"

Sasuke shook his head.

"Okay…"

She placed her hands on Itachi's face and felt around with her chakra.

"You're lucky you've got a medic who can work without tools."

He started feeling the effects of the medicine.

He continued to watch as Sakura poured shining green chakra under Itachi's eyelids.

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

Sasuke nodded.

The last thing he saw was the thin line of blood dribbling down the side of Itachi's face.

In the light of the fire, it looked like a tear.

* * *

Tap.

Tap.

Footsteps, slow and calculated, beat on the rubble of Konoha.

Tap.

Beneath a black trench coat whipping in the wind, a clenched fist held small pebbles. Every few feet, the thumb flicked one away.

Tap.

The little pebble hit the ground with its quiet force. It bounced only once, then stuck on the ground with a tap. It shuttered and then melded into the earth.

Haphazard hair pulled into a stolen hair tie.

Tap.

One eye staring forward with deadly determination, the other shut tight.

The bag slung across his body was nearly emptied of the explosives he had prepared.

Tap.

He slowed to a stop, chewing on the bit of clay in his mouth.

The chakra gathering in his eye, the one that battled illusion, was almost ready.

Tap.

He had made his rounds. There was hardly any clay left to him; just enough to cause a load of trouble for one unfortunate adversary.

The sound of wings caught his attention and he slid behind broken walls out of sight. Above him, a strange white bird flew over. He watched it soar silently towards a broken down hospital nearby.

He grinned.

Even with the village quite, all shinobi dead or dying, he could feel a stirring power below.

Chakra, not his own.

In fact, whatever force was brewing underground was concealing his small clay deposits that littered the village.

He walked out into the light of the full moon.

He flicked the last pebble.

Tap.

Konoha was a mess, there was no doubt about that. But it hadn't gotten a taste of real destruction.

His power would set a blaze that the whole nation would see. He would illuminate the evil imbedded in this country and he would send it straight to hell.

He would break open the Earth itself and burn all creation.

He took a deep breath and stretched.

"No mistakes this time."

* * *

Sakura rested in a tree, gazing at the sky.

The clouds were drawn like curtains and the stars were glistening.

One storm had ended.

The light of their fire had grown into quite a beacon. They would be fortunate if no unwanted visitors discovered them. But it was a risk they had decided to take.

Suigetsu and Karin were watching after Sasuke below.

The transfer had been a success as far as she knew. They had been wise to give him extra chakra. The procedure would have killed him otherwise.

Karin stared at his sleeping body fearfully. She and Sakura could see the sinister life stirring inside those eyes. The power of the Sharingan was truly a fearsome thing to behold.

Sakura stared at the flames. She could see the shape of Itachi's body.

Slowly it would turn to ash.

The smoke was rising high in a thick column. Even though it was downwind of her, the scent of the wood was unmistakable. Every shinobi knew how a pyre smelled. It reminded her Hidaka Akane and how Sasuke had given her a shinobi's funeral even though she had been an enemy.

The time that had passed seemed almost unreal.

Her knowledge of the world, her understanding of the shinobi… everything had changed.

She tried to remember Akane's words and sighed when they didn't come to her.

In the distance Sakura saw a glint of light, like a star.

She stared at it curiously.

"Sakura!"

Karin's alarm made her realize something was amiss.

It was growing in the dark canvas.

It mimicked the sun, breaking through the night.

She felt waves of light hit her. Warm and lively.

Her jaw dropped, "It… can't be."

She jumped from the tree.

Suigetsu and Karin were up, ready to fight.

"I-it's okay. It's okay!" She ran from the forest, ran to meet the light.

It descended sharply and she found herself at the site of Sasuke's battle.

"Sakura!"

Her heart stopped when she heard his voice.

The melody hit her and she opened her arms.

"_Naruto!_"

She caught the golden light and yellow hair. Into his arms, she fell with a laugh. He hugged her and lifted her up.

He had come back.

She grasped at his clothes desperately. "I thought… I thought you were dead!"

He rubbed her hair, "I'm fine."

She laughed, "Yeah… stupid. You're fine."

Naruto set her down and eyed her face.

She was worn. But the green light in her eyes was fearless. Her smile was incomparable.

He touched her cheek and felt no tears.

"This is disappointing."

She glowered. "I can't believe I worried about you."

"Were you really worried? You're not crying or anything."

"Shut up." She swatted his shoulder. "Where have you been!?"

He sighed happily as he hugged her again, "That can wait."

She held in a shaky breath. "Naruto… I'm glad you're back."

He released her and noticed Suigetsu.

He was poised to attack behind the rubble.

Sakura mocked. "Does it look like he's here to hurt us?"

Suigetsu stepped out. He placed himself between them and forced them apart. "I have a problem with your displays of intimacy. And so would Sasuke, probably."

Sakura laughed, "Thanks for your concern."

"Sasuke?"

She absorbed his bewildered expression.

She took his hand. "Follow me."

Naruto was rigid and did not move with her.

He felt a tingling inside of him.

"Naruto?"

There was a faint presence in the settlement.

He walked away from them, splashing in the mud and water.

"It's here."

Sakura was confused. She trailed after him. "What is?"

Naruto walked numbly, following his instincts.

He went closer to where Itachi had fallen and he paused there.

"Naruto, what is it?"

He lifted his arm and pointed.

"The Hachibi."

In the shadows, Sakura could see nothing.

Light sparked on Naruto's hand. His arm was covered in golden chakra and became a torch to see by.

In the crevice of debris, Sakura saw the glint of metal.

A sword.

She immediately noticed a hole near the hilt. It was a perfect circle, yet it seemed carved out accidentally.

Naruto took a step forward and his hand shot back.

The light was extinguished and a spark of purple split the night.

Ripples of black and purple spread, revealing a barrier surrounding the sword.

Naruto examined his hand. It had turned black.

"Naruto!"

Sakura ran to him, pressing her healing power to his skin.

He tugged away. Naruto curled his hand and black ash cascaded from his palm. His fingers started to crumble and Sakura gasped. Just before it fell apart, his hand became covered in gold energy.

Bathed in light, his blackened skin regenerated.

Naruto's gaze upon his hand was grim. Sakura was astounded. And terrified.

He muttered to himself, "I don't understand."

He searched inside himself for the Kyuubi's voice.

He searched for the Kyuubi's guidance.

The Hachibi was right in front of him. But he couldn't touch it?

What was he supposed to do now?

"Kyuubi…"

Sakura examined his face, trying to read his thoughts. "What? What does the Kyuubi say?"

Naruto was at a loss.

_What happens now?_

"Tomorrow… We'll figure it out tomorrow." Naruto spoke to Sakura, "I'm sorry. I know this is weird, but… I know we'll be alright tonight. The Hachibi… I am the only one that can release it. It isn't going anywhere."

Naruto stretched his hand so she could see that it was back to normal.

Sakura smiled helplessly, "What am I going to do with you?"

She took that hand and together they returned to camp.

Suigetsu was in front of them, leading silently. He looked over his shoulder every once in a while to glare suspiciously at Naruto.

When they arrived, Suigetsu sat down and pulled Karin to the ground with him. She resisted at first, but then noticed Sakura and their previous target, Uzumaki Naruto.

Naruto saw Sasuke lying there and Sakura let him go alone.

Bandages were wrapped around his head, covering his eyes.

Naruto sat down beside his old friend.

Sakura explained, "He's just sleeping."

Naruto looked at the fire. He recognized the smell rolling off the wood.

"Sasuke killed Itachi."

The fire cracked.

He murmured with a halfhearted smile. "Looks like I missed all the action."

Silently, Naruto mourned Itachi.

He wondered if… if perhaps Itachi had been given the chance to tell Sasuke all he knew, all he had been through, things would have ended differently. He wondered if—had they understood Itachi's life—he would still be here.

Then again, Naruto knew that wasn't Itachi's goal.

A thought struck him, "Have you seen Ino? I actually came here to make sure she was safe. She left Ame when she found out Sai was in this area."

Sakura gasped a little. "They were here! Sai was bent on killing Sasuke and Ino jumped in to fight… I don't know what happened after we split."

He saw her expression and softly reassured her, "Ino will set him straight."

She wanted to brush his words off. "You're too optimistic." But she knew this wasn't just glass-half-full talk. He sounded so unbelievably certain. Maybe he knew something she didn't.

His face fell as his thoughts continued to churn and a nervousness entered her. Maybe he really did know something more.

But this sadness seemed unrelated.

"Itachi… is dead."

Sakura approached him, confused by his tone.

She stroked his cheek kindly. "Are you okay?"

He gave a "humph."

She put both his hands on his face.

He didn't look at her, but answered her gesture. "I'm just a little shell-shocked. Don't worry so much."

Hearing that scared her. What happened to him in their days apart? Was it about the Hachibi? His talk before seemed so distant. He was keeping things from her. That much was crystal clear.

And she wasn't prepared to wrangle the answers out of him just yet.

Naruto gripped her palm against his cheek.

"You're being so forward, Sakura. You missed me that much?" He eyed her seductively.

She blushed. "You're stupid."

From below, they were interrupted.

"That much hasn't changed."

Naruto froze.

His blue orbs locked on Sasuke.

Sakura helped him as he tried to sit up. "You should take it easy. I didn't mean to wake you."

"It's hard to sleep with you two yammering on."

She stopped him as he tried to pull off the bandages.

"Not yet. You're eyes aren't ready. You need another healing sessions before we can take them off."

Sasuke grumbled as he surrendered to her wishes.

Sakura looked up at Naruto. "I'm sorry. This isn't much of a reunion."

Naruto stared at them with awe.

He dropped to their level and grabbed them both. "Wh-what are you talking about?" He squeezed. "This is the best reunion ever."

Sasuke hid his embarrassment. "Get off me."

Sakura pushed Naruto away. "Do _not_ hurt the patient."

He chuckled as he fell into the grass. "Sorry!"

The kunoichi's shoulders relaxed.

"This time we were waiting on you."

"Yeah." Naruto grinned. "Sorry."

His smile drew out subtle tears. She leaned into Sasuke and rubbed his arm.

He found her hand and held it.

"It's been a while, Naruto."

"Last I saw you was at the Sound Base." Naruto chuckled. "I remember, kind of."

Naruto couldn't see, but he was sure Sasuke was rolling his eyes.

He twitched and Sakura jolted up.

"How do you feel? Does it hurt?"

"I'm fine."

She pinched his cheek. "Don't lie."

He yanked his head away. "I'm being honest. It feels…" He put his fingers on the bandages, "Amazing."

She was relieved. "I'll need you to lie back for a minute."

He obeyed and she began working.

She kept glancing at Naruto.

Finally she asked, "What happened to you, Naruto? Itachi… caught you. We had been tracking you until we found the note he left for Sasuke. How did you escape from Rain?"

Suigetsu and Karin were shocked to hear the news.

Naruto sat in silence for a time, collecting his thoughts.

"Itachi saved me. Well, it sounds weird when I say it like that. Itachi… He helped me communicate with the Kyuubi and make peace with it. He told me where to find the Hachibi."

Sakura shook her head, "I don't understand… How did it get here?"

"It's here!?" Sasuke was shocked. "What do you mean!?"

Naruto confessed to his friend with reluctance, "The Hachibi… the Hachibi sealed itself into a sword long ago. Kusanagi no Tsurugi. And I'm— the Kyuubi is the only thing powerful enough to break the seal. Madara tried to strike a deal with the Kyuubi in order to release it… and told us to find it."

Sasuke added, "The sword was supposedly with Orochimaru. But you were there, Naruto. There was no sword."

"Yes… I assumed the Akatsuki had taken it. So did we all." Naruto started to wring his hands. "The truth is… the Kusanagi never left Orochimaru. It lived inside of him, completely suppressed by his chakra. It was untraceable, unless you already knew where it would be. Itachi knew it from the beginning. And maybe Madara did too…" Then Naruto hesitated.

Sasuke snapped, "Spit it out!"

The camp was motionless in anticipation.

"Sasuke. You killed all of the people Orochimaru put his curse seal on, didn't you?"

Sakura felt the air get cold.

Sasuke showed no response.

"Did you notice any change within yourself as time passed? As more pieces of Orochimaru died, did you feel yourself get more powerful?"

Karin shot up. "What are you saying? You think Sasuke killed those people… to get stronger—!?"

Suigetsu interjected. "Karin, that's enough."

Sasuke remained silent.

Karin spoke cautiously, "Sasuke… You didn't kill those people because you wanted _power_. Right? It was because—…" She stopped herself and spoke quietly. "Orochimaru did _terrible_ things to them. He created monsters. And we—" A face flashed in her memory. "You and Juugo. You were the same. He looked up to you. His seal wasn't always… he couldn't help it. But you _protected _him. You understood. You understood that he wasn't a monster." Karin was shaking. "Sasuke. That last time he lost control… you were together."

"I made a promise to Juugo." Sasuke sat up. "The day that he was unable to return to normal, I would make sure he couldn't hurt anyone else. By any means."

Karin was horrified.

"Sasuke. Did you kill… Juugo…?"

"Stop." Suigetsu put his hands on her shoulders. "This is old news, Karin. Besides, Sasuke isn't the only one who made Juugo that promise."

Sasuke laughed bitterly at Suigetsu, his rescuer. Their glance conveyed the tragic link they shared. Juugo's final wish, their heavy promise.

"The more people we killed, the crazier Juugo got. He took out a whole village of people before Sasuke brought him down." He pressed a finger hard into her cheek. "We told you all you needed to know. So let's drop it, alright?"

Karin reared up, smacking his face, and stormed into the shadows, separate from them but still in earshot.

Suigetsu pressed his lips together and leaned against a tree. The dejection and shame on his face was obvious.

Sasuke spoke again to Naruto and Sakura. "Juugo and I could feel the others with curse seals when they were close. Like Juugo, they were all destined to lose control someday."

Sakura imagined the various outbursts she had witnessed. Sasuke's fight with Itachi was fresh in her mind, but also she remembered what happened to Kabuto when he lost control.

"And there was no way to remove the seal… until today."

Naruto confirmed, "The pieces of Orochimaru inside of you were not what created the outbursts. I believe Orochimaru was creating vessels to do more than extend his life, and he didn't want just any shinobi. He wanted powerful Kekkei Genkai users. He wanted someone who could contain the sword… He wanted the Sharingan. I believe the seal he gave you, like mine, was created to keep in a bijuu. What drove so many people with curse seals off the edge was not Orochimaru… It was the Hachibi." He stared intently at Sasuke. "Itachi knew this whole time. He knew the Hachibi was sealed inside of Orochimaru—"

All attention fell on Sasuke.

"—Inside of you."

Silence chilled them.

Karin stammered under her breath, painfully afraid, "Are you kidding me?"

The darkness his team had seen in him and the sometimes merciless acts Sakura had become familiar with suddenly made sense.

Sakura couldn't pretend to be surprised. Orochimaru had plagued their lives in more than one way already. The seeds of evil were hard to kill. However, it was evident now that the evil had not stemmed from Orochimaru, but from something much worse that encompassed the entire nature of chaos and death.

Naruto seemed to be realizing himself the truth he had been ignorant of as he spoke, "Itachi knew you would follow him, Sasuke, and fight him. He knew he was the only one who could remove the Kusanagi from you, and it had to happen in your weakest and most desperate moment. He knew when he succeeded, Orochimaru's curse would be lifted and the Hachibi could finally be destroyed…" Naruto uttered despondently, "Everything played out… just like he wanted."

Anger flared in Sasuke.

"It all began with the Hachibi. Before, the bijuu were just spirits of nature; they embody all the aspects of the world. They didn't fight in the beginning. There was peace. Then the Hachibi tore it apart. It became aware of its own strength and started the battle for control over the world, over all life… and the other bijuu were pulled into it… this endless and pointless struggle for power where there is no true victory or end… Shinobi were born out of the chaos. Jutsu were developed in order to protect against the demons. And then the Sharingan was created… a technique that could control and subdue them… The Uchiha were born." He covered his eyes, trying to see through all he had learned. "This all began… long ago. The war we've been pulled into began long ago. Bijuu and Shinobi. This… is all for one man. One man, inspired by the bloody history of these countries. He created this chaos so he might unite the bijuu again, for the first time since they were born as demons, and use them to control this world. And he started preparing _long_ ago… with your family, Sasuke. Itachi told me… I… I don't know how to… explain… Your brother had to make a choice—"

"_Enough!_" Sasuke shoved Naruto away.

Naruto bounced back and roared. "Shut up and listen! Madara has been in control of this whole thing since before we were born! He pitted Itachi against his own family to take out anyone capable of opposing his own Sharingan!"

Fragments of voices shot out.

_We absolutely must stop the coup._

"The Third Hokage only agreed because he believed if a clan like the Uchiha started a civil war it would destroy all of Fire Country! Itachi was ordered to kill your family because they believed it was the only option! And _no one _could ever know. Tsunade and countless others have sacrificed _everything_ to discover the truth!"

"The _TRUTH_!?" Sasuke covered his ears. "Are you STUPID?!"

Naruto nearly knocked Sakura over getting to Sasuke. He pulled Sasuke hands away.

"The council and Danzou made Itachi kill his own family—"

_Call for Danzou._

"_SHUT UP_!"

The shattered pieces of illusions were ringing in his head.

"—and leave the village in dishonor! Your brother knew what civil war would do to the nation. It was out of love for peace!"

_I'm sure you want to protect the village._

Sasuke fought against Naruto fiercely, but he didn't have the strength to break free.

"He played the role of the villain. He did everything they asked of him… but…"

_Don't hesitate._

His voice cracked, "But… he couldn't… he couldn't kill you. You were…" Tears swelling, "YOU WERE HIS BROTHER! How could he kill you!? How could they force him to… kill his innocent little brother. His… brother… that he had watched over and protected all his life."

_It's the path you chose._

"He went against the world he knew…! He betrayed his friends, his teammates, his mother, his father."

Sasuke sat, eyes covered, with his teeth clenched.

_Promise…_

Naruto slacked, his head sunk. "He killed them all. But—"

He rounded on the unsuspecting Naruto and started choking him.

Sakura jumped between them and tried to pry Sasuke's hands from Naruto's neck.

"Sasuke! _Let go_!"

Naruto would not be silenced.

"B-but he couldn't do it!"

The black world Sasuke stared into—the memory of illusion—was distorting the words.

_Itachi—…you will—_

His father. That was whose voice he was hearing.

"He couldn't kill you, Sasuke!"

_—Sasuke._

Saying his name.

The voice he had always wanted to hear.

"He…" Naruto struggled, gasping for breath, "…chose you. O-over everything else."

Sakura wrapped her arms around Sasuke, trying to separate them.

"A-and—"

_…Promise me—_

"—to the very end…"

_Itachi._

His father.

_Promise me that you will take care of Sasuke._

"He loved you."

From under the bandages, tears streaked across his face.

The three froze.

Sasuke released Naruto.

Every memory, every moment he had shared with Itachi came flooding back.

Sasuke reached up to the bandages and began pulling them away.

The shielding arms that always seemed to be surrounding him.

The gentle and reassuring smiles.

Was it all a lie?

_Sasuke._

He removed the last piece and watched it fall into his lap.

Lifting his head to the fire.

Staring at what remained of his brother.

His eyes bright with an unfamiliar Mangekyou Sharingan.

His brother's.

_I'm sorry, Sasuke… This is it._

The Mangekyou fell asleep inside of him and the color faded.

The fire cast heat onto his face.

Scorching his eyes.

"The truth…" Naruto laughed breathily, humorlessly. "Truth… is unattainable. We all go through life believing in the world we see. But… it's only pieces put together of what we think is real. All of us. Are we strong? Are we helpless? Are we murderers? Are we heroes? How do we make those judgments? How do we decide?" Naruto couldn't understand Itachi. "He told me… he told me I could change things. Itachi said I had the power to reshape everything. He said I could create peace…?"

He locked eyes with Sasuke.

"What I see… What do I— …What is my truth? What kind of world did Itachi see? What world do I see?"

He stared into Itachi's black eyes.

They were frozen, overwhelmed and afraid.

"I can change the future…? What does that mean?"

Naruto saw himself reflected in Sasuke.

"I'm just a man. I have as much power to change reality as you do."

Sasuke saw himself reflected in Naruto.

"What does it mean?"

Paralyzed, Sasuke could not speak.

"Really… you two." Sakura wailed, "You don't know when to quit!"

Unnoticed until that moment, they realized how close she had remained. Sitting delicately between them, sobbing.

"We all…" She held their hands tightly, linking them in warmth. "If reality is the illusion we live in…" She pulled them close. "Doesn't that mean we can make it however we want?! No one can control our future. What we can do, what we will do… who we are, who we will be… When we change ourselves… we can change everything! No one can keep us from making our dreams a reality. We can make peace last!" Sakura searched inside herself for the memories and trials she had survived and held them close, like precious children that had shown her the way to who she was meant to be. "All our struggles have transformed us, evolved us. All the people that have touched our lives won't be forgotten. And just like they fought to change the world they lived in—we are transforming the current world with everything we are! We can leave behind a legacy…! We have time…!" Sakura's voice soared, enveloping Sasuke and Naruto in her strength. "We have all the seasons of our lives to shape this world!"

She took a deep breath, turned her sights to the clear night, and roared so the stars could hear.

"We make the world!"

The echoes of her words melded into murmurs through the trees and through their hearts.

Sasuke's last memory of Itachi struck his heart.

He glanced at the fire.

The memory of lying beside each other. The blood on Itachi's face. His cold body resting limp at last. The battered body, the guilt-tortured existence… The secrets that he died with… all of it could be laid down at last. And Sasuke saw it…

A sleeping face finally out of pain. Finally free.

The flames were still so high.

Sasuke was transfixed on the churning light. Even surrounded by calm, he felt a niggling inside. Like a child desperate to be noticed.

The Avenger.

The child frozen in time on that horrible night when it all began.

The child that had been corrupted by the pursuit of violence.

Would it ever stop?

Would his anger ever end?

"I… I can't."

No one would ever know for certain what had happened that night.

"I can _never_ forget…"

Nothing could show him the truth. No one could say the words that would sate him.

"…what he did… What Itachi… did."

No one could take it back.

"But… I—"

No one but Sasuke.

"I wish…"

Sasuke could decide.

He could choose to forgive Itachi.

"I wish it could… just…"

Forgive his brother for a night that had happened so many years ago.

Forgive his brother for not sharing the truth.

"Can I change—?"

Accept the past…

"After everything… can I...?"

Forgive him.

"Can I change…?"

Remember the brother that loved him.

"Can I forget this hate…?"

And forgive himself for letting go.

"Can this be the end?"

He couldn't feel the tears streaming down his face.

He heard Naruto's voice from far away saying:

"Why not?"

Death could not defeat truth.

Truth was relative.

A cycle, born again and again inside the human mind.

Never-ending.

As long as people inhabit the world.

There would be no end.

Truth born from illusion.

Illusion born from reality.

Reality born from truth.

All of it was relative. All of it was seen through Sasuke's eyes.

His reality.

His truth.

As if he had woken from a bad dream, Sasuke took in Naruto and Sakura with fresh eyes.

He reached for Sakura and she took his hand, pressing it to her cheek.

She kissed his palm, then leaned closer to kiss his forehead.

As soundless tears continued to flow, he leaned into her shoulder.

Time passed as the three of them sat together before the fire.

Sakura was petting Sasuke's head when she met Naruto's eyes.

She started to laugh a little.

"This is real, isn't it."

She hugged Sasuke tighter, and then released him to get a good look at them both together.

"They're back." She laughed and let out a sigh, "My boys are back."

Sasuke wiped her cheek.

Captivated by the moment, time passed and melted away the tension in the air.

They all suddenly became aware of how long the day had been. How much it had taken out of them.

Sasuke laid Sakura down and Naruto followed suit without hesitation.

Naruto rolled close to Sakura and half hugged her. She snuggled with him reflexively.

He peered up at Sasuke and whispered aggressively, "She still loves me more than you."

Sakura saw Sasuke's stunned expression and pushed Naruto off immediately, red-faced.

Sasuke smirked at her, and then chuckled at Naruto, "Whatever you say."

All three heard movement close by.

Karin took this change of atmosphere to approach camp again.

Suigetsu gestured for her to sleep near him, but she flat-out refused.

Undoubtedly, her anger with him had not been resolved.

She sat at the base of a different tree to signify she was going to sleep.

Between the two of them, they settled curtly who would have first and second shift.

Sasuke murmured, "I've got third."

He was watching the fire when he felt something nudging him. Sakura was tugging at his shirt and, amenably, he rested beside her.

Naruto sighed loudly. "I'm _beat_. I've been fighting all day, if you can believe it." He crossed his arms behind his head to serve as a pillow. "I've never been so tired in my life."

Sakura hummed, "When this is all over, it's story time."

"I've got some good ones. You wouldn't believe what Hinata—" He cut off mid-sentence, laughing. "I guess I won't tell you yet. You'll probably fall asleep in the middle."

She whispered sharply and resisted the urge to whack him. "What the hell, Naruto? Now I want to know!"

"When it's all over, I'll tell you."

There was a small rustling and Naruto peered at Sakura. Her eyes were shut, but she was grinning. Sakura's side was pressed against Sasuke, their hands clasped.

Naruto took a deep breath, determined to rest.

The answers would soon be clear, he was sure. He had to be patient.

Tomorrow would come.

* * *

Kakashi's Sharingan ached lightly.

He watched the moon that still showed in the morning sky. Bright red.

The shinobi walking under it seemed almost sluggish. Like some primal fear was weighing heavy on them.

He moved his sensei's kunai in his palm, gripping it occasionally, and feeling the world on the other side where its partner had been left.

Shikamaru stood behind him, arms crossed. "Did you get any sleep?"

Kakashi sighed, "Did you?"

The young man grumbled without answering.

They observed the other teams in silence.

Akamaru padded alongside Kiba as he spoke to his older sister. He rubbed his partner's head. They heard him say, "Not this time." Akamaru whimpered, but Kiba shoved off before he might change his mind. Hinata and Neji were sitting quietly together. Tenten plopped down beside her teammate and scooted close. She grasped his hand firmly. Lee was stretching on the ground while Shino and Chouji gave simple greetings to each other.

They were all waiting for Gaara to end his conversation with Jiraiya. Most of Ame had been emptied already and had started making the journey to Suna, but they still needed to decide what to do with their former enemies that had been resurrected.

Kakashi was wary. He recognized the old power living inside of Gaara. Though it did not feel malicious as it had years ago, there was no mistake that Gaara had become a Jinchuuriki once again.

He was uncertain of what had happened between Gaara and Naruto after the battle with the Juubi. The Sharingan could only show him the result. There was a strange imbalance of energy. Not just in Gaara, but everywhere. Everything.

Reality had been thrown off kilter.

He felt sick to his stomach.

Everything he thought he knew about shinobi, about the Uchiha… About Obito…

Everything seemed to be spiraling downward and out of control.

But he could not afford to surrender.

Gaara finished his talk with the Sennin and approached him.

"Are you ready?"

Kakashi chuckled.

He stood and the whole camp shifted in response.

The youth of their nation stepped up: Shikamaru, Chouji, Neji, Tenten, Shino, Kiba, Lee, and Hinata. They had earned their place among the other veterans of war.

Kakashi pulled his gloves tightly on his knuckles.

"Kakashi!"

Sprinting into the camp were a few familiar faces Kakashi was shocked to see. Gai, Shizune, and Yamato came through the crowd receiving greetings.

Gai immediately ran to Kakashi, grabbing him by the collar, "How could you even think of leaving without your rival ready to watch your back, Kakashi!?"

Kakashi was speechless.

Yamato gave a small respectful bow. "Good to see you alive and well, senpai."

Kakashi shrugged them both off, "What are you doing here? What about defending Suna?"

Yamato answered, "Now that the shinobi are coming back, our job is done."

Shizune advanced towards them. "I won't let Tsunade's death be in vain." She was clutching the scroll in her fist. "I know you probably want to go alone, but—"

"What d'you mean? The more the merrier, right, Kakashi?"

Kakashi whipped around to see a confident man with a toothpick perched between his lips.

"Genma."

The shinobi strode up to the young group and rubbed Shikamaru's head. "This guy told us what was going on. And we figured it's time to clean up our own mess."

Shikamaru batted away Genma's hand. "I'm amazed you got here in time."

Genma reached up to adjust his bandana and placed his hitai-ate forward to display the leaf etched into the metal. "Gai runs fast. He was practically dragging us here."

Gai roared proudly in response.

Kakashi wanted to laugh. Surrounded by old friends and pupils alike. Some things never changed.

But Obito… When did things go so wrong?

He moved the kunai in his hand again.

All the answers were on the other side.

"Kakashi?"

They were all watching him.

He took a deep breath. "I don't know what's waiting for us when we get there. There might be no turning back. I don't know what we will be facing, or what we can accomplish. We might not be able to right the wrongs done to the Uchiha. We might not be able to make up for the lives sacrificed in error under Danzou's command. There might be nothing we can do to change the past. But we can stop this from going any further. We can protect those that are still living. And we can give an answer to the world… that we will not abandon the hope for peace. And that we will protect it to our last breath."

He placed the kunai at arm's length.

Hands started piling on.

They all looked at each other, not sure if they would all survive this day, but proud and full of strength.

Gaara was last.

Kakashi stared at him, seeing the foreign energy swelling under his skin.

"Now, Gaara."

Gaara sent a pulse of chakra into the kunai and the world tore away from them.

They were suddenly at the foot of the Hokage's office, standing in the shell of battle. Kakashi looked down at the second kunai and picked it up from the drying puddle of Tsunade's blood.

Konoha was gray and lifeless. Fire in the morning was smoky and red. Shadows were cast from the plumes that mimicked clouds. The scent set everyone on edge.

Kakashi walked forward, "Let's go."

The sun was coming steadily up, casting harsh light on the devastation and corpses scattered on the streets. Ame and Root nin, bloodied and battered.

Shizune listened hard for pained breathing, searched for signs of life, but was met by the stillness of death.

There was an ominous chakra swirling below the village and they could all feel it.

Hinata pressed her hand to her forehead, hoping to suppress her pulsing headache. "What is that?"

Neji seemed equally uncomfortable. "I'm not sure. I can't see anything distinctly."

As if triggered by their arrival, the chakra started agitating more and more.

Kakashi and Shikamaru realized at the same time that the signature was familiar.

"Kakashi!"

He slapped his hands into a sign, "I know!"

Fire erupted from Kakashi and coated the ground.

Hinata dove forward, leaving Tenten and Lee confused. She, Kiba, and Chouji recognized what was happening just as Kakashi and Shikamaru did.

From the fire, figures burst out. Dozens of white clones of the Akatsuki member they had fought while searching for Sakura. Zetsu.

Neji and the others, though confused, quickly defended against the ambush.

Genma flicked out a swarm of senbons at the clones that were trying to trap them from behind, but he was unable to stop them all. Gai joined him and they prepared to fight barehanded.

Gaara's sand knocked some Zetsu back, pinning them to the ground with spears.

The more they defeated, the more that came from the ground.

Shino's bugs, Shizune's poison gas, and Temari's wind could only do so much to keep them from being overcome.

Gaara commanded, "Gather together!"

The party of shinobi got back to back and, before they were completely overwhelmed, Chouji's enlarged fists scattered the crowd. Gaara followed up with sand spears that took them down for the count.

There was finally a clear path.

"Get to high ground!"

They split, leaping up to the office roof.

The surviving clones trailed after them. Their numbers growing yet again.

Tenten threw explosive tags into the air and Temari whirled her fan down, blowing them into the oncoming crowd.

The explosions went off and the shinobi escaped.

Shizune called out to Kakashi, "What are we going to do?"

Gaara was sizing up the enemies over his shoulder, "I can take them."

Kakashi snapped, "Don't you dare. If you lose control, we're all dead."

"What's he talking about?" Temari looked between them.

"I can control it. It's different this time."

Kakashi was shaking his head.

Shikamaru glanced behind them. "We better think of something quick. They're all over the place now."

Shino, in response, sent a cloud of insects out to slow them down.

"Kakashi, we're going to get cornered if we don't make a stand."

Kakashi's heart was pounding. What had he done? What had he gotten them into?

"Kakashi!"

He roared and turned to their pursuers. "Yamato! Split them!"

Yamato planted his feet and sent tendrils of wood out into Zetsu's formation. They were funneled into the shinobi, like pigs to slaughter.

"Gai, flank left! Neji, flank right! Chouji and Gaara, stay with me!"

Genma, Kiba, and Temari joined Gai. If Temari or Kiba didn't tear them apart, Gai and Genma certainly would. Tenten, Shino, and Shizune ran to group with Neji and proceeded to knock handfuls of clones off the roof and into a pit of Shizune's poison that filled the streets below. Those clamoring up were taken out by a barrage of weapons from Tenten. Hinata and Lee stood dead center mercilessly defeating them with taijutsu and Shikamaru stood with them, impaling others with a web of shadows. Kakashi, Chouji, and Gaara defended all of them from behind, clearing the air.

Suddenly five dozen opponents were almost manageable.

Zetsu's numbers dwindled to nothing in no time.

"Well done, Kakashi! As expected of my rival."

Kakashi couldn't relax. Neji and Hinata could feel it too. Kakashi's focus was coming in and out. His Sharingan was almost pulsing.

After a strange calm had descended, the earth started to quiver below them.

"This couldn't be more perfect."

Kakashi jerked his head up.

Standing a few rooftops away was who they had been searching for.

"I can't believe you came all this way, Kakashi. For what?"

Kakashi turned to face the person he knew as Danzou.

"To stop you."

Their enemy shook his head, gazing upward with a sigh. "What high expectations."

"I swear, I will kill you." Kakashi took a shaky step. "Obito."

"You're always so quick to make promises. It's no wonder you've lived a life of regret."

* * *

Shooting pain plagued her dreams.

Standing knee deep in putrid black water.

Splattered blood.

She twitched.

Sakura could hear Naruto and Sasuke's voices.

She tried to wake up.

There were slithering things clawing at her skin.

"Hey…"

From inside.

The dream.

"…Sakura."

Something inside.

Something dark and twisted was eating at her.

"Sakura?"

She snapped awake and looked at who had called her name.

Naruto and Sasuke were seated together, staring at her.

She was standing over the pile of ash and charred wood that had lit their evening. The same pyre where Itachi had been placed.

Sakura's hands were clammy. She was shivering and there was that aching in her spine again.

"Are you okay?"

Her stomach lurched and she shook her head.

She ran for the nearest tree and dry-heaved with no relief.

She heard Naruto behind her, "Woah! What's wrong?"

She waved him off and started walking away from the camp.

When they were out of sight, Sakura tried to vomit again.

Nothing.

She continued walking.

The nausea was debilitating.

She leaned against a tree when she began to sway.

Her vision flashed red and she buckled.

Head in the grass, she vomited.

She squeezed her eyes tightly, letting the heaves pump out her stomach.

She panted, lifting herself off the ground.

She felt the stinging acid in her throat and froze when she saw the puddle below her.

It was black.

She touched her mouth.

She stood in a panic and tried to run to camp.

Her voice refused to come out.

Her body suddenly lit up in pain and she doubled over, throwing up more of the disturbing bile. Her eyes glazed over and Sakura passed out.

She was staring at her reflection in red wood. Clean, sacred wood.

In her peripheral she could see a figure approaching.

Black figure with glistening eyes.

Tainted blood spread from the figure's shadow. Black and infectious green.

She tried to turn around.

She tried to move at all.

The figure reached for her and the veins ran up her legs, digging under her skin.

She tried to scream.

And she did.

Sakura came to, standing rigid, in the middle of the settlement.

Her voice ringing in her ears.

Her mind was suddenly filled with voices. Pleas for help, for mercy. The cries of children. Women and men in agony.

Sakura hit her knees.

Her hands were seeking out something.

Something.

She remembered, trapped in Kabuto's grip, the feeling of this chakra.

Orochimaru's chakra.

But something wasn't right.

The chakra wasn't right.

Orochimaru's presence was like a veil over the real source of evil.

Like Naruto said…

Orochimaru was keeping it in.

Keeping it contained.

This power was different.

Different from the curse seal, different from Orochimaru's gold eyes.

The white snake had been consumed.

And only the pure evil remained.

The Hachibi.

Her skin was mangled by the spreading ink.

Limbs felt twisted.

Her voice was breaking apart her body.

She could hear someone coming.

She could hear the heart beats.

She could smell the veins filled with blood.

The scream distorted into a cackle that stretched out her bones and pulled her in one direction.

One direction.

When her fingers touched their goal, her body went limp.

…

Sasuke's shift passed without incident. He spent the early hours watching the bloody moon.

Red dawn.

The night had felt entirely too short.

Not enough time. Not enough rest.

His mind was buzzing with images of the day before, like a very disturbing, lingering dream. He stretched and felt the soreness of his body that still remembered battle.

Not an illusion.

He hadn't been up for three hours when the others started to stir. It seemed that they were struggling to sleep as well.

Karin woke and stormed off almost immediately after realizing Suigetsu had wiggled his way closer to her while she slept. Suigetsu was awoken by her movements and trailed after her. Sasuke could almost see in her retreating figure that Karin was ready to forgive Suigetsu, but only if he truly worked for it.

Naruto was next.

He sat up after grumbling and groaning about how early it was. He saluted Sasuke, who clicked his tongue in response.

He whispered, trying to be considerate of Sakura as she still slept, "Good morning!"

He walked over and plopped down beside his long lost comrade. Sasuke tried not to acknowledge his unnecessary energy, and his thoughts remained engrossed with the moon.

Naruto's gaze drifted upward like Sasuke's.

"When Pain summoned the bijuu, that happened. I don't understand why it didn't go back to normal after the demons dispersed."

He read the question in Sasuke's upward gaze, but didn't have any idea how to being to answer. He moved uncomfortably. Nothing had happened as he imagined. After all the unexpected shifts in the path others had laid out for him, would destroying the Hachibi really end everything?

He couldn't break the seal, let alone _touch_ it.

What was missing?

What was he supposed to do?

The Kyuubi was gone. Itachi was dead.

Who was left to guide him?

Both he and Sasuke jumped when a small cry came from Sakura.

They looked at her sleeping body. She was sitting up, eyes half open.

"Hey, are you okay?"

Her entire body was quivering. Sweat glistened on her forehead.

She lunged with stiff legs and started walking.

Naruto chuckled as she stood, "You look terrible, Sakura."

She didn't answer them, but muttered under her breath. Gasping and twitching.

Sasuke called out loudly, "Sakura?"

Her head snapped to look at them, struck with horror.

Her eyes darted around, confused.

Sasuke started to get up, "Are you okay?"

She blanched and convulsed. She ran to the nearest tree and leaned against it, dry heaving.

Naruto jumped up, "Woah!"

They both ran to her.

"What's wrong?"

She stumbled and Sasuke reached for her. She lifted her trembling hand and he stopped.

They watched her walk away, hand still waving as if to reassure them.

Naruto half laughed, "Something she ate?"

Karin had returned when she heard their raised voices. "What's going on?"

"Sakura's sick."

She recognized the concern in Sasuke's voice.

"Oh, geez." She mocked quietly, "It's not like she's never been sick before. That girl's weak to stress."

Sasuke glared at her.

She sighed loudly and sat up, "Okay! Fine. I'll check on her."

Karin stormed in Sakura's direction. She passed by Suigetsu, who was just returning as well. They made eye contact and Karin was hit with a furious blush. She scampered on past him and Suigetsu turned to the other men with a grin.

"So much energy this morning!" He eagerly started picking up their things. "We're headed to Konoha, right?"

"After we deal with the Hachibi, yes." Naruto's eyes narrowed at the memory of Konan's words. "Madara is there."

Sasuke sat down, arms hanging over his knees. He rested his head, touching his closed eyelids.

"What does Madara want with the bijuu?"

Naruto leaned against the tree behind him. "It doesn't matter what Madara wants with them. That kind of power…" He imagined the chaos and destruction the Juubi caused in Ame. "That power shouldn't be controlled by anyone. The bijuu combined… it wasn't evil, it was just… overwhelming. It felt like the center of the universe. And the Kyuubi," Naruto touched his stomach, his seal, "I felt like I was being pulled in. Called home."

"But they've been separated now. Who knows how long it would take for Madara to find them all again."

"Yeah, but I've got to make sure that never happens."

"Who says it has to be you?"

Naruto laughed, "I don't know if _I_ am choosing this path… or if it was meant for me. All I want is for all of this to stop. All this war. And I think we can do it… I think we can achieve true peace."

Sasuke recalled what the crow said, just before his battle with Itachi.

_Naruto is where he wants to be._

Sasuke huffed, "Always an optimist. I can't imagine a world where there is no war."

"Itachi said that too." Naruto smiled sadly, "Everyone fights for a reason… But, underneath it all, that reason is not evil. If you take the violence away, we're all just struggling to protect something that's precious to us." He looked dazed, like he was staring into a dream. "Is it wrong… to want a better future?"

Sasuke didn't answer. Sakura's voice resounded in his mind, soothing his rampant doubts.

"We make the world… right?"

They laughed lightly together, but it was cut short when Naruto cringed.

"What is it?"

He shook his head. "It's nothing. Headache."

Sasuke leaned on his hands. "First Sakura, now you."

Suigetsu, who had been listening, tossed in, "Sympathy pains."

Sasuke glared, "What does that mean?"

Suigetsu snickered to himself.

Naruto watched, hesitant to speak, but something compelled him, "I spoke with Itachi… about you. He told me… that he had a reason to kill… that night."

Sasuke stared at him, fully alert.

"He said… that he wanted your happiness. He didn't want Konoha or the Uchiha to decide your life for you." Naruto smiled, realizing what Itachi had meant, "He wanted you to make your own reality."

Sasuke was about to respond when a scream shattered their camp.

The three men were frozen for half a second before identifying who it was and they all shot after the echo of her voice.

Sasuke was blinded by his speed as they approached where he and Itachi had battled. Naruto was lagging behind, holding his head.

Then a second cry split their ears.

It was Karin.

* * *

"I've watched your life, Kakashi, from this body. Fragments. Flickers of a reality that I didn't belong to. And all you've done is bring sadness and death to those around you. You are a perfect example of how far this world has fallen. It's completely worthless… and there is nothing left in it but misery."

Kakashi was transfixed on a face he suddenly could not recognize. Was it Danzou? Was that the name he attached to it? The more he looked at it, the more he saw traces of another face. Another person whose time had long since frozen in Kakashi's memory.

Obito.

This was the face of Obito. There was no mistaking it.

He was brought back to reality by Gai.

"They're surrounding us, Kakashi."

Madara smiled, "You have nowhere to run. The only fate you can accept is death."

"Then I'll just take you down with me."

In that instant, something hit them all like a tempest. A shattering fear consumed them.

The shinobi looked at each other desperately as piercing waves of chakra bombarded them. This arising manifestation was eerily similar to the Juubi in Ame, but there was something fundamentally different. There was a sickening maliciousness sticking its fingers into their souls.

Madara took a deep breath, "It's awake."

He looked at Kakashi, his eye—half revealed under the failing bandaging—glinted.

Kakashi knew that Mangekyou instantly.

A mirror of his own.

"I will save this world from itself. I will erase the errors of humanity. And there will be no more war. There will be no more suffering."

The Sharingan spun wildly.

The weight in the air dragged Kakashi down.

He watched helplessly and was pulled into what Madara was seeing:

People staring up—frozen.

Black clouds cast across a blood red sky.

Tsukuyomi.

A never ending hell.

Kakashi's vision snapped in and out, from reality and to horrific illusion.

He fell to his knees, gripping his head.

They all felt a pulse in their bodies.

A pulse that shook the earth.

Something was coming.

* * *

They could see the settlement in the distance in no time.

Suigetsu saw Karin's back and shouted out to her, "Karin!"

Sasuke was there first and got in front of Karin, ready to defend.

Suigetsu grabbed her shoulders, shaking her. "What's wrong!? Are you hurt?"

She was trapped by fear, unable to stop looking ahead.

Naruto tripped and there was a flash of light. He was launched backward and hit the ground painfully.

Sasuke turned to see what had happened. Half of Naruto's head and shoulder were scalded and turning black. He cried out, writhing on the ground.

A small hissing noise made Sasuke and Suigetsu turn.

Standing in the opening was Sakura.

Her limbs were contorted. Pitch black fluid was dripping from her mouth and her hands were covered in it. Her skin appeared to be moving over her bones, little dark tendrils covered her like a curse seal.

Sasuke took a step—ears filled with Naruto's cries of pain and the quite hissing. "Sakura?"

She lifted her head and met his gaze.

The white of her eyes were inked with black. Her iris was a pool of dark blood.

Her mouth opened wider and smoke slipped out.

"Sakura?"

She was as pale as death.

"Sakura, can you hear me?"

She lifted her hand to reveal the sword, the Kusanagi no Tsurugi, clenched tightly in her delicate fingers. She squeezed it and blood dripped from her palm. Her hand was burning, skin raw and sizzling.

Naruto called from behind him, "It's the Hachibi! Get her away from the Kusanagi!"

Sasuke reached for her, "Put down the sword." Karin whimpered in the background and Sasuke snapped, "_Get out of here!_"

Suigetsu swept her up in his arms and hauled her out of danger.

Suddenly it was just the three of them. Naruto, clutching his face as his skin healed over; Sasuke, standing rigid, completely helpless; and Sakura, her body knotted and covered in demented chakra.

"Sasuke! Get it _away_ from her!"

Sasuke's heart was pumping in his ears.

He had to do something.

"Damn it, Sasuke!"

_The Uchiha…_

Naruto tried to approach, hand out, but it hit the barrier again and turned black.

"Sasuke!"

He had to do something.

The black ash was tricking from her body.

_The Sharingan…_

"SASUKE!"

Something clicked inside him and he stood tall, relaxing his body.

"Sakura…"

His eyes lit up, awakening the Sharingan.

Three tomoe transformed into the six points.

"Listen to me."

Red against red. Sakura's possessed eyes were startled.

Naruto saw Sasuke's expression and chills ran down his spine.

"Sasuke!?"

Naruto watched the six points sharpen and from Sasuke's pupils stemmed three spikes of black, mimicking Itachi's Mangekyou.

Sasuke felt power quaking under his skin.

The world changed in his eyes. He could see everything.

The chakra that was invading Sakura… and the thing inside the sword. He recognized it as the unnamed evil that once lived inside his curse seal. Inside Orochimaru. Everything was coming together.

And then, there was the growing presence behind him. Was that really Naruto? Not human. That's all he could think. Not human.

All the world was open to him. Everything was in his power.

Eyes.

Eyes that saw everything.

He reached out to Sakura again, arms wide.

"Sakura… Come to me."

Her red eyes widened, the shape of the Sharingan swirling into place there.

Naruto was standing, trying to ram the barrier with his body. "SASUKE! STOP!"

She took a step, struggling for control.

"COME!"

She sprinted straight at him, sword held steady between them.

The blade shot through him and immediately he felt the poisonous chakra invading his body.

The ink on her skin spiraled toward the hilt where her hands were still connected.

The breath was sucked out of him and suddenly he was swimming in darkness.

The Sharingan in Sakura's eyes faded and the green returned.

Slowly, she came to her senses.

"Sa…suke?"

She felt the dampness and looked down. Blood.

She released the blade and screamed.

Sasuke grabbed her shoulder, leaning on her.

Numbness was erasing his consciousness.

Everything was becoming cold and empty.

She held him up, crying his name.

"Sasuke! What—" When she saw his eyes again, she remembered everything. "WHY? Sasuke!"

Sasuke's head hung from his shoulders. He tried to shake off the power of the Kusanagi, but the chakra was corrupting him.

_Sasuke._

There was no light.

There was no distinction.

What else was there but the drowsy nothingness?

_Sasuke._

Sasuke shoved Sakura back and she skidded away from him.

His body was being covered in black.

Naruto struggled to stand, "NO!"

His closed eyes were reluctant to open.

His skin felt strange, tingly.

_Sasuke._

Who was Sasuke?

Naruto howled, pressing his hand into the barrier. His skin burned away, but the chakra moved through. He could feel it.

He forced his whole hand through and his flesh and bone turned to ash. His hand was gone.

But fingers made of light moved inside the barrier.

Still feeling. Still alive.

Naruto took a deep breath.

The purple chakra sent angry ripples around him.

He dove in and felt the Kyuubi's chakra ignite on his body.

His body—was it his body?—moved through the air to Sasuke's side.

His golden hand grabbed the sword.

"Sasuke! Don't give in!"

Inside, Sasuke felt the tug. Curious, he opened his eyes.

Something else awoke with him.

Sasuke's black hands gripped the blade, holding it firmly inside of him. The hole below the hilt cracked, splitting to the edge.

Rage swarmed inside Sasuke.

Like insects crawling in his skin, hatred filled every fiber of his being.

Sasuke let out a guttural cry that transformed into a roar.

Naruto thundered back in Sasuke's face and the sounds melded together, like those of ancient, formless beings.

They struggled with one another, chakra building inside both.

Naruto clenched the hilt and put all his strength into one last pull.

This time, the sword could not take it.

It snapped.

A calamitous cackle burst from Sasuke's throat as all the energy that had been leaking out was finally released.

The Hachibi was free.

Immediately, the chakra shot out at Naruto and he dodged.

Trees were leveled behind them.

Knowing that Sasuke could no longer hear him, Naruto dropped the hilt and flickered to Sakura's side.

He pulled her into his arms and dodged another wave of corrosive chakra.

Something was pulling Sasuke toward the horizon.

_Sasuke._

Something was sucking him in.

Sakura struggled against Naruto. "Sasuke!"

Sasuke's eyes were burning.

Some part of him wanted to stop.

While the rest was desperate for a taste of death…

Some piece of him was reaching for the ground, struggling to hold on to reality.

Sasuke's body swelled and he discovered power at his fingertips. The world had become smaller. It felt weaker. More easily controlled.

The Hachibi's chakra was tearing apart the earth.

Naruto launched into the sky and Sakura screamed as they faded into the distance, "SASUKE!"

Arching high, Sakura watched the chakra bubbling in the clearing, pouring out like a black sea. She could feel the power of the Hachibi in her body, like an acidic residue, pulsing painfully.

Naruto saw Suigetsu and Karin below and dropped down to them.

He grabbed them as well and he hoisted them up.

They stopped in the sky and floated there, staring down at the putrid chakra spreading and killing the forest.

A black mass started to rise from it, a figure supported by the materializing bones.

At the core was Sasuke.

Naruto's body was jittery and filled with instinctive rage.

It was the Hachibi.

There was a shift in the demon and suddenly it was moving. A colossal mass of death.

As it traveled, it destroyed everything it touched.

Naruto had done as he had been told.

And now the Hachibi's madness had been unleashed upon the world.

…

Sasuke floated in darkness. Nothingness. Death, surrounding him.

His body felt drenched in power.

He lifted his head and was standing on the surface of a vast ocean of blood.

In the limitless sky there was only one light.

He moved, flowing effortlessly over the viscous body.

Following that bright red eye.

* * *

Next Chapter – TBA

…

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.

_Marianne Williamson_


	17. Hellfire

(You know you've been editing for too long when Chouji yelling "_CHOUHARITE!_" reads as "_CHOCOLATE!_" …Sigh… That being said, this is a MONSTER chapter. A MONSTER. Get your popcorn, or your chocolate, or your beer… and some tissues? Take your pee-pee break now… Whatever is needed for you to prepare for the MASSIVENESS that is this chapter. Have fuuuuun….)

It's 2013. FOUR POINT FIVE years ago, February 2009, I took the first step in creating this story. I am both sad and proud to see it coming to an end.

When I was playing around with the ages of the main characters I decided to jump them into their 20's. I wanted them to seem more mature, more "grown up." I didn't realize that, as I was writing, I began to mirror my own coming-of-age troubles in these characters: the desire to be an adult while still clinging to the playfulness of childhood, the urge to break free while still needing support and strength from others, and realizing that there are some things you cannot outgrow and will never want to. I felt more connected to them as our ages grew steadily closer. (Whoever made me think that all my problems would be magically fixed when I turned 20 needs to be punched.) I love this story. I've loved writing it, and I love who I've become through it. While I definitely think I've come a long way (as a writer, maybe… As a mature adult? Nooooot so much…), I've got a long way to go and I can't wait!

I've given serious thought about going to the beginning and reediting both stories. While preserving my original work is important (as if to say, "Look at this. Look at this awful writing. This was you. _This was you. REMEMBER THIS FOREVER and be HUMBLED by your EMBARASSING TEENAGE YEARS._"), I don't want the story to suffer because the 17 year-old me that started this story is unable to clearly get my message across. (Did I just use the word "message" in reference to a fan fiction? Yes. Yes, I did.) However, it's a really freakin long story! So who knows if I'll ever actually edit it all. Hahahaaaa…..

Anyway, whether you started it with me in '09 or when you stumbled across it yesterday, I cannot thank you enough for your support of this story.

(_Regardless_ of when you got on the crazy train… I'm sorry for the half-a-year long gaps in updates, and the brain-melting length of chapters…)

Thank you!

For now, I'll say goodbye until we have all seen Eien no Kessoku through to the end.

* * *

Playlist: Running Up That Hill (Placebo), Until We Bleed (Mikael's Cello Version)(Lykke Li), Bleeding Out (Imagine Dragons), Let it Burn (Red), Skinny Love (Birdy), Radioactive (Imagine Dragons), and Pretend (Reprise)(Lights).

* * *

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.

_Marianne Williamson_

* * *

…

Hellfire

…

* * *

From the door to their kitchen, Sasuke saw his mother fixing dinner.

"Your father's meeting with the Hokage should be over soon. Since it's taken so long, I can only imagine things are going well!" With a kind and hopeful smile she imagined what they could be talking about. "Itachi should be coming any minute. I'm sorry you haven't seen much of him lately."

Sasuke didn't answer her. He didn't want to be a bother to his brother.

He heard the front door opening.

"I'm home, Mikoto."

It was his father.

"Welcome back!" His mother wiped her hands on a towel and whisked away to greet him.

Uchiha Fugaku's stern face lightened at the sight of his wife. He kissed her coolly on the cheek and immediately noted Sasuke. He greeted his son with a nod. The man's reluctance to show affection to his sons would never change. He went to his place at the table and sat. His wife returned to her cooking.

"It's almost done… I wonder if we should wait for Itachi."

He shook his head, "No, I saw him on my way. He was finishing some business."

She placed a fresh cup of tea in front of her husband. "That boy. I wonder if he'll ever give himself a break."

"It's good for him to be active in the community. He spends too much time on his own as it is." He took the tea and sipped.

She tenderly touched his shoulder. "He's shy. Talking with people wears him out." Though Fugaku didn't seem to care, his cheeks pinked.

Sasuke resisted a chuckle. It was obvious where that aspect of Itachi's personality had come from.

More sounds from the door interrupted their conversation.

"I'm home."

His brother set aside his shoes.

"Itachi! We almost started without you."

He was older than Sasuke remembered.

"Look who came to visit!"

It struck him then that something was amiss.

Itachi was wearing a Jounin's vest. He smirked gently at Sasuke and walked to the kitchen.

"It's been a while, Sasuke."

The lines in Itachi's face, the length of his hair. His clothes. They were all wrong.

He placed his hand on Sasuke's shoulder, but it seemed much too high to be a child's shoulder.

Wasn't this a memory?

"You should come home more often. Mother misses you."

In the reflection of Itachi's eyes, Sasuke saw himself.

It was his face, but not the face of a child like he was expecting.

He looked at his own hands. They were large—an exact replica of his father's. Adult hands.

This wasn't the past.

"What's wrong, Sasuke?" Itachi's voice was filled with tenderness and maturity.

If it wasn't the past, when was it?

Sasuke felt an abrupt stinging in his arm.

He gasped and put the hand he had been observing where he had been struck.

He looked to his hand and it had changed to one belonging to a child.

There was a small smear of blood on his palm. The fabric on his arm was ripped.

He knew this pain.

Sasuke scanned the unlit living room of his house.

His brother, the same brother that had just been smiling at him was standing over his dead parents. The flash of lightening showed the coldness and anguish in Itachi's eyes.

The Sharingan pierced him and Sasuke's child sized heart thumped rampantly.

Itachi's mouth opened and Sasuke cringed.

"Run."

He did. He was sprinting on a road in Konoha past piles and piles of dead.

But something wasn't right.

They weren't Uchiha.

They were enemies he had faced.

The faces of people _he_ had killed.

The patter of child's feet became silent, like an assassin's. Sasuke's hands were calloused and wet with blood. He was heavy with rain and guilt.

Someone was in the road—the last one left alive— crouched over a corpse.

He slowed to a stop and reached for her.

She whipped around and he was met by green eyes bright with hatred.

Sakura sat there, holding onto the torched remains of Hidaka Akane.

"SASUKE!"

The scream dragged him into another place.

More bodies. More fire.

The smell of death.

He was staring at Juugo. His comrade was completely consumed by the curse seal.

Sasuke was filled with dread as he prepared to strike down someone he had fought alongside for years. His conflict, his anxiety over killing one of his own swirled inside of him like a maddening storm.

Yet underneath that feeling was another.

Excitement.

Anticipation, the thrill of killing.

Joy.

Death.

He rushed forward and plunged his sword into Juugo, tearing him apart.

He cried out in anger and felt the spirit of his avenger rejoice.

Ripping apart Juugo and the bloody scene altogether—he burst into darkness.

He darted in the nothingness, but was yanked into another reality by the sound of his feet on the wood of a dock.

He leapt high over the face of a lake.

His family's lake where he had once trained as a child.

He hovered in the air and, as he remembered the flames his father had approved of, the lake ignited. Sasuke fell through the blinding heat and was smacked by chilling water.

He was submerged.

Sinking.

Like a stab to the heart, words encased him.

_I killed them._

Screaming.

_I killed them all._

He was swimming through a cloud of blood. He could taste it around him and saw the source on the other side when it dispersed.

Itachi.

Drifting silently before him, strung up by ribbons of escaping blood in the murkiness.

Flashing in the water over and over, like seeping reflections of light, were images of his fight with Itachi. He saw the life leave his brother's eyes over and over again.

There were voices, murmuring at him, muted by the heavy lake.

_"Give me… your light."_

Sasuke was horror-struck and grabbed his throat.

"_What if everyone is wrong?"_

He couldn't breathe.

"_Sakura, RUN!"_

"_We are each other's spares."_

He tried to swim, but he was anchored there.

_"What do you see now with those eyes?"_

_ "What if it's nothing like you've been told?"_

Thrashing, trapped across from his blameless brother.

_"Was I right?"_

The brother he had murdered out of cold blood.

_"He couldn't kill you, Sasuke!"_

All for revenge.

_"Don't hesitate. It's the path you chose."_

Sasuke stopped struggling and stared at the lifeless face before him.

_"Everything played out… just like he wanted."_

As he lost the will to fight, he stared at the surface where the air was still burning.

_ "Was I right?"_

Sakura's face came close to him and he snapped out of the hallucination.

"Are you okay, Sasuke? You look sick."

His senses came to life. He could hear cicadas crying. The sun was starting to set, casting a warm glow through the windows.

He watched Sakura as she touched his cheek.

Her wrist was thin and her pale skin was smooth, devoid of scars.

Her fingers were soft.

She noticed his intense gaze and blushed. She sat on the cushioned sofa.

"What's with you today?"

Sasuke's mouth was agape and his voice broke before he spoke. "I—I killed him…"

Her brows came together. "Sasuke?" She tilted her head as she sighed, "What are you talking about?"

From the other room there was a small crying.

Sakura stood and followed the noise without hesitation—a conditioned response.

She vanished into the other room and the crying ended almost instantly.

He could hear her soft voice responding to something and was drawn to that other room.

The air she left had a soothing scent. It guided him through the door to where she sat.

She was cooing warmly to a small bundle in her arms. Her hair was pale, like a halo. He hadn't noticed how it had grown long and was draped daintily around her neck.

He slowed to a stop and reached for her.

"Sakura—"

She whipped around and he was met by green eyes bright with unabashed happiness.

"Shh," Sakura sat there beaming at him. "He's asleep."

She touched the baby's puffy face and his feathery black hair.

She turned to face Sasuke a little more and lifted her arms, gesturing to the baby.

Sasuke extended his hands to her.

They were covered in blood.

Sakura hit the floor.

Her screams shattered the dream and she writhed on stony ground.

He wrapped her in his arms.

She was convulsing, trying to put pressure on a wound on her stomach.

Her hair was matted with sweat and caking blood.

Tears streamed on her ash covered cheeks.

The wound was too big, too deep.

Her fingers were shaking as she tried to sew her abdomen together.

"Oh, god…" She whimpered, more and more blood spilled out.

Sasuke tried to move her, but she screamed out in agony.

There were bones pressing into him he couldn't recognize.

Her ribs were sticking out every which way. And her spine. Something was wrong with her spine.

She had been crushed by something.

Like the finger of god had squashed her, a fragile and worthless ant.

Slowly, her hands stopped shaking, stopped moving.

She lifted her green eyes to him, "I'm so sorry, Sasuke."

Sasuke resisted the urge to squeeze her and cried out, "NO!"

He watched Sakura as she touched his cheek.

Her wrist was littered with bruises and her pale skin was marred with years and years of battle scars.

Her fingers were wet with her chilled blood.

Her wheezing breath was shallow and she tried not to show how excruciating it was. She was twitching, deprived of blood and oxygen.

Her features softened with more regretful tears.

As the light faded from them, she muttered, "I love you."

She let out one last breath into a heartbreaking smile and her gaze faded.

Her hand dropped.

The ground beneath them dissolved into water.

Sakura's blood was slowly lapped up, dying it red.

Her corpse slowly slid into the darkness until she vanished completely. Sasuke's hands were empty once more.

His tears sent ripples on the surface.

It was then that he discovered where he was.

He was on that ocean again.

That red ocean of death and despair.

An ocean dyed with all the blood he had spilt and all the lives he couldn't save.

Sasuke stood on the surface, feeling heat gathering around him. The air was igniting; the familiar fire that once gave him pride were what imprisoned him.

The world was in flames and he was the cause.

He was the source of his own desolation.

As if hearing its contemptuous voice, he turned to the moon.

There it was. Red. Illuminating all his shame. Mocking him.

He bellowed at the sky, "Why!?"

The moon seemed to grow.

"Why am I here!?"

From somewhere in his mind, he heard the voice again.

_Because you chose to be._

"I didn't choose this!"

_This suffering and death stems from you._

Sasuke felt the fires rising around him. "Then why don't you just kill me?"

_You have not fulfilled your purpose._

"There's nothing left…" He tried to erase the images of death—his parent's murder, Sakura's sad and agonizing end—from his mind. "There's nothing left in me!"

The moon now enveloped most of the sky, absorbing all of his peripheral vision, and returned to silence.

It would show him that he was wrong.

There was still so much left to break.

Sasuke fell to his knees and cried out.

The moon was extinguished and Sasuke was again swallowed by the dreams and nightmares of what was, what might have been, and what was sure to be.

Over and over, he watched an enchanting future of happiness burn in the corruption of the world.

Over and over, the family he once cherished tore itself apart.

Over and over, he drenched his hands in innocent blood.

Over and over, he lost the only woman that could have loved him—that could have saved him from his loneliness and pain.

Over and over, he realizes how helpless he was to end it.

Over and over.

Over and over.

* * *

Hinata watched Kakashi step toward Madara.

Panic set in when she sensed all of the enemies gathering.

Gai waited for a moment to see if Kakashi would come to his senses before speaking, "They're surrounding us, Kakashi."

Kakashi rejoined the group.

Knowing their predicament, Madara sneered. "You have nowhere to run. The only fate you can accept is death."

Hinata could see Genma stepping next to Gai. Tenten and Shizune joined Neji.

They were preparing the formation that had saved them only moments before.

But the numbers on the ground were much greater this time.

"Then I'll just take you down with me."

Before the words could finish leaving his mouth, Hinata dropped.

Hit with a horrific premonition, her pale eyes gazed across miles to a battlefield far from their own.

The colossal clashing of monsters reverberated inside her.

Then she was drawn by a warm light.

Naruto.

Even though she could not clearly see his shape, she knew it was him.

Naruto and… what was that sinister presence creeping in the corner of her eye?

She watched Naruto's snarling energy gripping the core of that evil and felt herself drawing away.

_No!_ She wanted to scream, _don't touch it!_ The fear choked her voice.

In an instant, there was a sharp snap and her Byakugan was blinded.

Like a ripple—the aftershock of an explosion—all of them were hit with the power that was released.

Hinata clutched her head—immediately releasing her Byakugan— and tried to knock the visions out of her mind. Death. Blood splattering at her feet. The cries of her loved ones. All of her fears were creeping up, ensnaring her will. Undermining her strength.

A voice from what seemed forever away chuckled, "It's awake."

She scouted around her. All her friends suffering from the same sickening sensation. Temari went to Gaara who had seemingly lost consciousness. Shikamaru's keen eyes were darting around, trying to find the source of the waves. Chouji was falling further into the horrific illusions. Shizune approached him and Kiba, to try and break them out of the chakra's influence. Neji was standing protectively between Madara and Tenten. The adults surrounding Kakashi seemed as debilitated as the rest.

Hinata strained to pull herself together. In the depths of her hopelessness, she sought out that brightness she had seen.

She heard Madara's poisonous voice—"I will save this world from itself."—as she regained control of her limbs with effort and rose.

She reactivated her Byakugan.

"I will erase the errors of humanity."

Rising like a plume of smoke, darkness covered the horizon.

Another pulse brought the other shinobi to their knees, but Hinata remained upright.

"And there will be no more war."

Beyond them all, far in the distance, past the monster rearing its head, she found that glimmer of hope.

Naruto.

Shining brighter than the sun.

"There will be no more suffering."

Wind bombarded them as the enormous mass moved at an inexplicable speed towards Konoha.

The shinobi were quaking with a sense of their insignificance and powerlessness.

But with the sun shining in her eyes, Hinata would not be brought down by doubt and fear.

At the edges of the roof where they stood, she felt dozens of Zetsu's clambering to attack.

Hinata forced herself to move. Her muscles trembling, she bit her lip and manipulated her chakra to jumpstart her body. She staggered at first, then with an empowered cry, bolted to where Kakashi was.

She placed a hand on his arm and with a jolt of disrupting chakra, Kakashi broke free of the illusion he had slipped into and gasped for breath.

Madara glowered and the first Zetsu to appear launched wood spears at Hinata.

"_Hakkeshou Kaiten!_"

Hinata spun, whirling defensive chakra around Kakashi, Gai, and Genma.

She heard the jutsu echoed as Neji put a bubble of spinning energy around the others.

As if woken by the display, the shinobi were revitalized and leapt into action. Tenten shielded attacks coming at Neji's blind spot. Chouji and Shikamaru joined Temari to protect Gaara who had not recovered from his collapse.

Gai gave a rambunctious battle cry, "LET'S DO THIS!"

The energy of their team pumped up and their formation solidified. The oncoming Zetsu were overwhelmed.

Madara, expecting their defenses to be compromised, clicked his tongue angrily.

"It is useless to fight, Kakashi. You are only prolonging the inevitable."

Kakashi slammed his hands together, "_Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!_" Four other Kakashi's appeared and shouted in unison, "_Raijuu Hashiri!_"

Five wolves of lightning exploded out of he and his copies' hands at Madara, destroying the structure he stood on and sending a lethal current through the Zetsu surrounding him.

In that flicker of a moment, the shinobi took their chance to escape.

"Run, Kakashi! Run like you always have! But know that no matter where you go, your end will be the same!"

The troupe of shinobi fled.

Kiba noted the trailing Zetsu, "Is there no end to them!?"

Genma spoke to Kakashi, "We keep getting smacked around by these guys and can't even get close enough to Madara to put up a solid fight."

There was a small twinge of futility in the group.

Shikamaru's calculating mind was buzzing with the possibilities and probabilities. "There can't _really_ be this many of them. They're not clones—at least, not that we know of—so there has to be an original somewhere."

"Those things…" Yamato spoke up, "They're generated with Mokuton. There must be a place where they're being made."

While still fleeing the Zetsu, Neji activated his Byakugan and Kakashi searched with his Sharingan.

Hinata joined them, but the entire village was littered with chakra signals. Groupings and small flickers that made it almost impossible to track anything.

She was about to give up when she noticed a straight line of chakra identical to the Zetsu's hidden in the masses. She followed it and it connected to another strand. They collected and Hinata found herself looking down.

Below them there was a complex system of chakra leading to a solid core of energy.

"Under the village!"

Neji confirm it and was aghast, "How is this possible?"

"How deep?"

"Deep." Kakashi spoke, "This didn't happen overnight. These systems probably have been in place for years."

Shikamaru shook his head. "How did a village of shinobi never see this?"

Yamato answered, "When dormant, Mokuton is nothing but wood."

"There's no doubt about it. That is their point of origin." Kakashi looked to his team. "If we want to have a chance at Madara, we've got to get rid of them first."

Shikamaru seemed relieved. Finally, a plan of attack. "Destroy the source?"

Yamato confirmed, "If the core is destroyed, they should go dormant again."

Shino spoke from the rear of their moving formation, "How do we get to it?"

Kakashi sighed. "We can't tunnel that far."

A few of them glanced at Chouji and Kiba. Chouji the human shovel, and Kiba the human drill.

Kiba blurted angrily, "There's no way!"

Hinata noticed Gaara starting to speak, undoubtedly to volunteer, but he was gagged by Kakashi's glare.

"They've got to be coming out from somewhere…" Genma groaned in thought.

Kiba doubtingly shot it down, "They can pass through the ground! What use is an entrance!?"

Shizune murmured, "There's got to be a way…"

Kakashi stared at the glowing red moon.

"Whatever we do, we've got to do it fast."

"There must be weaknesses…" Shikamaru's musings came to their conclusion. "If there are no direct ways in or out, we'll just have to make one."

With their pursuers a ways off, he paused in a street and the others hoarded around him.

"We should split up. Three groups led by Neji, Kakashi, and Hinata. They can see into the ground and find where the channels are closest to the surface. Search around the edges, find an entry point, get down there, and destroy whatever is creating the Zetsu."

Hinata's heart nearly jumped out of her chest at the mention of her name.

Shikamaru continued. "Yamato, go with Neji. Shino and Kiba too." Tenten immediately stepped to her teammate. Shikamaru acknowledged her choice with a nod and also noticed Kakashi sticking to Gaara. "Gaara and Temari go with Kakashi."

Genma strode over to them. "I'll stick with these guys." He pounded Kakashi on the back. "For old time's sake."

Hinata was startled by a gentle hand on her shoulder. She focused in on Gai and Lee.

Shikamaru surveyed who was left. "The rest of us are with Hinata."

Kakashi and Neji lead their groups in two opposing directions, leaving her to stare at the last path, straight to the hidden pool of chakra.

Shizune's kind voice nudged her on. "Lead the way, Hinata."

With a sharp breath, she sprinted forward.

She could feel their presence around her as she followed one thin strip of chakra flowing underground. She had no idea where to begin the search. She had no idea how to lead them, how to succeed.

Would destroying the Zetsu really save them? Give them the edge they needed to kill Madara?

Another shockwave hit them and all their attention went to the outskirts of the village where a tower of darkness broke through Konoha's fortress walls with ease.

"What is that!?"

"Isn't that the Juubi?"

"I thought it was destroyed."

Hinata studied it. Her pale iris quivered with knowing. "No… it's something else."

She caught Shikamaru staring at her expectantly.

Gai shouted at them, "Look out!"

He had seen a gust coming from the bijuu and when it hit, it sent them all flying. They struggled to stay in formation.

They regrouped while they continued to launch themselves off rooftops.

Their lives were in Hinata's hands, and time was hard against them. This new bijuu, the Zetsu, Madara… their enemies had momentum now. If she didn't do something, they would soon be overrun. They would lose.

"What do you see, Hinata?"

Quaking with the fear of failing them, she said nothing and dashed aimlessly on.

She stared at the small line she was following. That thin, useless line.

They approached the mass of chakra and that's when she noticed it.

A pocket of air underground.

She stopped dead in her tracks.

The center of the mass was still a few hundred yards away under their feet, completely unreachable.

Hinata stared at that cavity of air, completely devoid of chakra. It was fifteen, twenty feet from the surface. After this high point, it arched down again and seemingly vanished. It appeared to be the beginnings of an underground stream, but she couldn't sense a bottom at first. There was nothing flowing through it. Then she sensed water sitting still another hundred yards deeper. It was completely hollow. She had found the tip of the iceberg.

Hinata leapt away shouting an order at the rest, "Get back!"

She threw a kunai at the spot.

"Chouji! There!"

Chouji bulked his arms and smashed the ground where she marked.

Nothing happened.

Hinata shouted, "Again!"

He slammed his fists again and a large, long crack appeared.

"_Again!_"

Chouji's fists hit and broke through. The road collapsed in, but the gap was not big enough.

Chouji let his hands bulk even more and the fourth strike split open the earth.

They were almost dragged into the unknown and Shikamaru managed to save Chouji from falling with a slender shadow.

The broken city pipes gushed out as they stared at the vast hole before them.

Shikamaru walked to Hinata and grinned. "Well done."

One by one they leapt into the darkness.

Hinata stayed above as they disappeared into the underground.

She looked at the creature at the edge of the village.

With her pale eyes she knew this monster was not like the unstable Juubi they had faced in Ame. This was a full-fledged demon.

She hoped with all her being that killing Madara would be enough, because she knew that no amount of human strength would be able to defeat it.

With an uneasiness in her heart, Hinata leapt into the hole.

* * *

"Kakashi, here they come!"

Their leader tore his Sharingan away from the trail of chakra and to the Zetsu on the rooftops above them.

The multitude swarmed on the city walls and his group began fighting for their lives.

Genma snarled, "Did they _all_ follow us!? Maybe I shouldn't have teamed up with you after all!" He and Kakashi slammed into each other as they batted off their opponents.

Out of nowhere, a thick arm of sand trucked through the street, enveloping all their enemies.

Kakashi spun to see Gaara's half transformed face.

With a grunt, he crushed them all.

He buckled, knees hitting the ground. The dead Zetsu dropped out of the sand as it retreated to Gaara's gourd.

"Gaara!?" Temari was on him in a second.

As he grasped at his head, he called out, "It's here!"

Arriving with another pulse, a monster they had never seen before carved its way into their village.

It was right on top of them. Genma and Tamari dragged Gaara into a sprint as they fled the bijuu's shadow.

Kakashi's Sharingan swirled as he twisted his neck to see.

Somewhere inside the creature, he spied a familiar presence.

"Sasuke?"

A painful yell from Gaara brought him to attention.

The Jinchuuriki was shoving his carriers away as sand seemed to boil out of him.

The enemy demon's energy shifted and Kakashi was shocked when it turn its eye to them.

"We've got to get out of here! Genma, Temari, mask his chakra!"

They tried to no avail.

Kakashi twisted Gaara's face toward his and as soon as their eyes met, he used a strong illusion to immobilize the Shukaku inside the Kazekage. Gaara regained control.

With his presence masked, they carried him out of danger.

Once hidden, Gaara motioned for Kakashi to release the genjutsu.

Temari whispered harshly, "What was that, Gaara!?"

He was holding his head again, "It's calling me."

Kakashi tentatively asked, "Like the Juubi did?"

"Something like that… But this feels more like… a declaration of war."

When Kakashi met his gaze, he identified Gaara's burning desire to fight.

"Gaara! I've had enough of your secrets! Tell me what's going on."

"I've…" He hesitated before answering his sister, "…become a Jinchuuriki again. When the Juubi disappeared in Ame, the Shukaku returned to my body."

Looking at the sea of power inside of the Kazekage, Kakashi couldn't believe that it was _just _the Shukaku that possessed him now.

"But… How—"

Genma murmured sarcastically, "Once a vessel, always a vessel."

With an agitated roar, another wave hit them, making the buildings they hid behind sway.

The giant bijuu was searching for them.

When Kakashi gathered himself he said, "If we defeat Madara, I think it will release."

Genma raised a brow, "What makes you so sure?"

"Sasuke is inside—"

"What difference does it make!?" Temari's snappy voice cut Kakashi off. "We need to get out of here… Find a way underground."

She peered out into the street to see where the monster had moved to.

Genma scoffed, "We can't go _around_ that thing. What do you expect to do? Tunnel? And I've played hide and seek with Sasuke before. It doesn't last long."

He stared meaningfully at Kakashi, then glanced at Gaara.

The message to Kakashi was unmistakable.

Kakashi declared firmly, "No."

Genma shrugged, "I don't think we have a choice."

Gaara spoke strongly to Kakashi. "I didn't come to Konoha to be helpless. I didn't come with the intention of running from what might end me. I will protect those here that are still living and fight for peace to my last breath." Kakashi glared at Gaara as his own words were turned against him. "This power came back to me for a reason." His chakra was intensifying and changing within him in response to what was seeking them out. "I now know what my purpose is." He lifted his gaze to his fated enemy. "This is a battle only I can fight, Kakashi."

The shinobi scowled. How could he call himself a leader when peace was to be achieved at the expense of the young?

A piercing truth was outweighing his guilt…

He, too, had a fight waiting for him. Just as the bijuu were being called, Kakashi's Sharingan ached to be reunited in battle with its twin.

Kakashi turned with a sigh, "Go."

Gaara gave a small nod and strode into the street.

Temari reached for him, but knew there was nothing she could do but believe in her brother.

The Kazekage stretched his tense arms out, releasing into the power of the Shukaku. Blue, scrawling patterns emerged on his skin. With his chakra grinding against the earth, every step he took created sand. It seeped from every corner of rubble, flowing into him in thick streams.

Gaara was enveloped, his gourd shattered from within, and he was lifted off the ground. The sand was forming into a giant ball already twice the size of the building they had used to hide.

Chakra unmasked, there was nowhere to hide from the enemy.

The faceless demon zoned in on the developing Shukaku and started to coming at him full force.

A strong, thick leg hit the ground where Gaara had been. The other lunged in front, preparing for the charging beast. Arms sprouted in a cloud of dust. Blue patterns mirroring Gaara's painted its belly and limbs.

The Shukaku's growling face formed last and its stout form caught the demon. It was an explosive collision that started a sandstorm in the street where Kakashi, Genma, and Temari were.

There was stillness for a moment before the air cleared enough for them to see what had happened.

The Shukaku had stopped the bijuu just before it could squash them. As the Jinchuuriki completed his transformation, Gaara's strength increased and he shoved off his enemy.

Genma grinned, "Glad he's on our team."

They gaped in amazement as the battle intensified.

"Let's go. Gaara will keep fighting to protect us if we stay here."

The three were escaping once again when Genma barked at Kakashi. "What now? With two giant monsters dancing around, Madara's cronies will have a hard time keeping up with us. Plus we've got two Hyuuga prodigies on the hunt for their core. Any minute now, the Zetsu be out of our way for good."

"What are you saying?"

Genma stared at Kakashi perceptively. "I'm saying I'd like to change our target."

Leave it to Genma to break from the plan. Not that Kakashi was complaining.

He huffed, "Fine."

He cast his Sharingan across Konoha, searching for a trail to follow.

"We go after Madara."

* * *

Sakura held on to Naruto for dear life as waves of chakra came off the Hachibi like the thumping of a giant heartbeat.

"Naruto! Get us out of here!"

His eyes were rolling in his head. Their flight turned into a plummet and the hands that held Suigetsu and the unconscious Karin let go.

Sakura tried to smack him awake, but his body lost structure completely and almost disappeared in her hands.

"Naruto!?"

With another wall of energy from the Hachibi, the light coming from Naruto that hadn't stopped shining since he broke the Kusanagi flickered like a dying candle.

The wind in their faces brought the ground closer and closer.

The four of them had drifted apart and Sakura noticed Suigetu's liquid form trying to reach for her and Naruto.

Sakura created clones that linked arms, managing to seize his outstretched liquefied hand.

They wrapped into each other and she shouted over the wind.

"He isn't waking up!"

Suigetsu gave a panicked laugh. "I guess that means we're on our own."

"Easy for you to say! The rest of us won't be able to pull ourselves together when we turn into human puddles!"

Suigetsu made his body swell and Sakura created dozens of clones, forming a large barrier between them and the imminent impact.

"Here we go!"

Sakura shut her eyes and was immersed in Suigetsu's liquid body.

She put herself under Karin, focusing all her energy to cover them like a shield.

She heard the clones hit the earth, each of them dying and exploding in a puff of white.

They were reducing speed and, when they finally hit, the bubble of Suigetsu that had protected them burst.

Sakura laid there, completely amazed at the fact that none of her bones were broken. Karin, who was still half on top of her, started coughing water.

Sakura pounded her back and Karin spat up what her lungs had gulped in. She took a good clean breath.

"Are you okay?"

"What the hell happened?"

Suigetsu, who was reforming out of the large puddle they sat in, snickered, "Emergency landing."

Once certain that Karin was alright, Sakura turned to Naruto.

He was still unresponsive and his glowing figure spurted like a wet flame.

Sakura searched for injuries with glowing green hands, but there was nothing to search.

Naruto had no physical body.

"Naruto…?"

He seemed to hear her and grumbled.

"Naruto!"

His eyes opened, still shining blue.

"I don't… understand. What's wrong with you?"

Naruto sat up, observing his hand. He paused before answering, "I've completely merged with the Kyuubi." It flicker and return to shape. "When I went through the barrier to the Hachibi… I guess… my body was destroyed."

Sakura knelt beside him, at a loss. "Can you turn back? What is the Kyuubi saying?"

Naruto glowered coldly. "I _am_ the Kyuubi." She flinched and his apology immediately showed on his face. "I'm not sure when it happened exactly… but there's been no one in here but me for a while now." He stood and scanned across the horizon to the shrinking shape of the Hachibi. "I don't know how long this power will last… and I don't think I'll turn back."

"Naruto… What does that mean…?"

He was fixated on the other demon.

"It's going to Konoha. We better get a move on." He gave her a kind smile and put out his hand. "Come on. Let's go get Sasuke."

She let him sweep her to her feet and into a brighter mood, even if it was forced. "We were finally together again! Why did you have to scare him off?"

He chuckled. "Sorry."

Suigetsu spoke up, "We'll stay here." Karin still seemed shaken from what had happened. He recited what he imagined she wanted to say, "I've had just about enough of all this monster chakra business."

Karin retreated into him, ashamed that she didn't have the strength or will to go on fighting.

A thought struck her and Karin shuffled in her bag. She produced a syringe and vile from her pack and drew blood. She filled the vile and took out a handful of soldier pills that had managed to stay dry.

"Sakura, take these."

Sakura did as she was told, eating a few of the soldier pills and inspecting the vile. She was sure it was blood, but it shimmered and glowed like chakra.

"It'll give you a boost."

Sakura could tell from Karin's expression that it was very potent.

"Knowing you, you'll need it for something stupid." She stared at Sakura earnestly. "Bring him back."

Sakura stowed the rest of the pills and vile, giving the pair one last reassuring smile. "We will. I promise."

She and Naruto walked away.

As they did, Sakura sniggered, "Are you going to pass out again the minute we're in the air?"

Naruto shrugged, "Let's hope not." There was a change in Konoha and Naruto whispered to himself. "Gaara? When did he…?" He took the hand of a confused Sakura and she crawled onto his back. "Let's go."

As soon as they were in the air, Sakura could see what he had reacted to. In the distance there were two beasts on the backdrop of Konoha's mountains. The Hachibi and the Shukaku.

Their speed increased.

Sakura felt Naruto tense and could almost see the change in his energy. He became filled with the desire for carnage.

They were headed straight for the Hachibi.

"Naruto!"

Under her, he started to grow. His chakra released and tails formed behind her. His limbs stretched and he was suddenly a fledgling Kyuubi. Something primal took over him and he snarled at his fast approaching enemy.

"Stop! We're going to crash!"

Sakura's stomach churned. It was like being pulled by the gravity of that evil presence. The Hachibi noticed them and its enormous limb rose to strike.

"STOP!"

As a last ditch effort to wake him, Sakura sent destructive chakra coursing through him.

"Naruto, look up!"

As he came to his senses, His flight faltered.

"_NARUTO!_"

Naruto saw the arm coming to swat them and wrapped Sakura in his chakra.

* * *

"If I'm going to be of any use here, I need to get more ink."

"With your leg like this, you're basically useless already."

"Then why did you bring me?"

Ino and Sai walked to the end of the forest around Konoha along the corroding path left behind by the monster that had barely missed them.

Sai was resting on the back of Ino's clone with his injured leg while the original sped ahead, surveying the recently destroyed wall of Konoha. She had healed the flesh, but the bone still needed to be set with something sturdier than a sheath.

Ino climbed over the rubble, avoiding the still sizzling chakra. Her clone followed.

"We'll treat you to the hospital first. Then we'll go to Root and get your ink. How does that sound?"

"Peachy."

"Stop pouting, Sai. It doesn't suit you."

She heard movement and froze. A white figure marched by and she instinctively hid. She was startled by the carcass of a shinobi at her feet, also concealed by the wreckage.

"What happened here?"

Sai spied down the street, seeing the dead Root and Ame soldiers everywhere.

"Let's hurry to the hospital."

Ino took a breath. "Yeah."

She led them through the streets. There were more of the white soldiers patrolling, but they seemed preoccupied, allowing Sai and Ino to slip into the hospital without a problem.

The main stairwell was under construction and only half completed from when Naruto lost control of the Kyuubi and attacked. They got to a higher floor eventually and hid themselves in the first room they came to.

"This place is a mess."

From the window, Sai watched the Hachibi with awe. Then the Shukaku came into view.

"I haven't seen that monster since I was a Genin." Ino peered at the demon she knew to be Gaara. She worked on wrapping Sai's leg into a sturdy casing, muttering to herself. "I hope it's on _our_ side this time."

"They're moving this way."

Ino nodded as she tied off his bandaging. She had healed the muscles around the bone and the fracture was well set, so _hopefully_ it would stay in place as they traveled.

Both of them jumped when unexpected screams echoed in the hallway.

They bolted out the door to see three figures clashing, illuminated by the afternoon sun coming in the window at the end of the hall.

Sai and Ino darted at them when they realized it was a Root shinobi being attacked by two of the white soldiers. The overcome shinobi was stabbed brutally and Ino put her hands into a seal before the other could decapitate him.

Her soul shot out of her and into one of them. The attack on the Root nin ceased. Its hand transformed into a white spear and stabbed its fellow through. The bleeding shinobi thrust his kunai into the one Ino possessed and she was forced to release the jutsu.

Ino woke up in Sai's arms.

"Hurry. Take me to him."

Sai half carried her to the dying shinobi.

"We have to get out of the hallway. There might be more."

Sai checked to make sure their enemies were dead before helping Ino with the man.

Her hands glowed green. He had been stabbed through and through and the main artery had been severed near his spine. She put healing pressure on it, trying to stop the bleeding.

The delusional soldier seemed to recognize Sai.

"He… Danzou-sama turned on u-us…" He clutched at Sai, twitching and panting. "He sent the Ame nin after the civilians… a-and killed the council. I—… I don't understand. These… things… Zetsu. They're wiping out anyone that's left."

Sai talked slowly to the man, keeping him calm. "It's okay. We'll get you out of here. Is there anyone else?"

He pointed weakly to the hospital bed.

Hanging from the edge of the bed was a woman's arm, dripping blood.

Ino was struggling to get a hold on the man's artery that was pumping onto the floor. It slid between her fingers. She tried to connect it to something—to anything—to stop the bleeding.

"I-is she dead? There's no one left. Th-there's no one…" His artery slipped in Ino's hand and blood spurted onto her. "She w-was the only one I found alive."

Sai heard footsteps in the hall.

The man grabbed Ino's arm, yelling, "Is she dead!?"

In the doorway, another Zetsu showed itself and Sai leapt at it with a kunai.

Ino watched over her shoulder at Sai's bout as an additional Zetsu appear. It tackled Sai out of view.

"Sai!" She hesitated over the dying Root nin then let go of his wound, rushed out the door to kill the Zetsu.

She slit the throat of the first one she seized. Sai got the better of the second with her help and stabbed it with his short sword.

Knowing Sai was going to be alright on his own, Ino rushed to the man.

She almost slipped on the growing puddle of blood. She got on her knees and bent over the man's open wound.

Ino could sense more coming from somewhere. More of those things.

She heard Sai shut the door.

"I'll draw them away."

Ino's desperate hands fiddled with the man's injury, trying once again to get a hold of the severed artery.

He had stopped shaking.

Ino knew that there was no saving him, but she couldn't give up.

The footsteps were getting louder and louder.

There was tense silence in the hospital room as she listened to their enemies pass the door and go through the hall.

The man asked again, "Is she dead?"

He put a hand on hers and she stopped working.

Ino peered at the bed. The dripping hand.

"No. She's going to be okay."

Tears formed in his eyes. "Good… G-get her out of this hellhole." He jerked, but he seemed out of pain. He stretched his neck, trying to see the woman on the bed. "All my life… I've only ever fought to kill. Thank God… that for o-once… I could use these hands to save someone else."

He coughed and blood spurted from his wound. The shaking resumed, more frantic than before.

"I don't… I don't want to die."

The shaking became convulsions and Ino held him to keep him still.

Her face contorted with sadness. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

She laid on top of him, whispering apologies until his body sagged.

Ino sluggishly sat straight.

His eyes were open and stared at nothing. He was gone.

She rose, walking to the bed.

As soon as she saw the woman, she sobbed. Her knees hit the floor and she suffocated her screams in the blood-soaked sheets.

The woman's legs were folded, fallen to the side.

Her belly was swollen, clearly at full term, with her throat slashed.

Amidst Ino's uncontrollable cries, she heard the door creak.

She lunged as it opened, whipping out a kunai.

"Ino! It's me!"

Sai barely managed to catch her attack. Her face streaked with tears, Ino's kunai pressed into Sai's flesh.

"Ino…"

The kunai clattered on the tile.

Her mouth trembled when she realized what she had done. Sai drew her into him and they both sunk to the floor. She muffled her weeping in his chest.

Sai noticed the two corpses and held her tighter.

He told her quietly, "We have to go. It's not safe here."

After a moment, Ino gathered herself. She stood and slowly went to the closet, grabbing the spare sheets kept there. She covered the woman and the soldier, whispering more apologies.

When she finished, she turned to Sai.

"She must have stayed behind… like the other civilians that weren't fit to travel to Suna."

They heard a rumbling from the streets and Sai took Ino's hand, dragging her into the hallway. The sunlight from outside was blocked out the window.

Something large crashed into the hospital, smashing the roof under its weight.

They charged and broke through the glass just before the Shukaku crushed the structure completely.

The Hachibi was right on top of them, about to pummel the fallen bijuu when it paused and looked the other way with its featureless face.

Ino and Sai landed in the street below and a blinding light drew their attention.

There was a comet coming straight at Konoha.

Ino gasped, recognizing that light. "Naruto!"

The Hachibi raised its heavy arm and knocked the light out of the sky.

The comet was smacked into the ground and Ino impulsively ran to where it landed.

Sai trailed after, keeping an eye on the demon that was now focused on to the crater they were headed for. The Shukaku took the opportunity to lunge at the Hachibi with its sand, wrapping it in its grip.

When he got to the crater, Ino was already trying to slide into it.

"Ino! What are you doing!?"

At the center he was shocked to see Sakura, wrapped in a casing of golden energy.

Slowly it retracted and formed into Naruto.

Sakura promptly punched him. "What the hell is wrong with you!?"

Naruto, laughing, towed her up and brushed off the dirt. "Sorry. I got a little excited."

Sakura conked his head again. "Well I'm tired of being knocked out of the air!"

"Sakura!"

Ino caught her in an unexpected hug.

"Ino!?"

Naruto spotted Sai as he stumbled to meet them. "It's been a while, Sai!"

Sakura made eye contact, released Ino, stormed over to Sai, and punched him with enough power to send him off a few feet.

"Sakura! I just patched him up!"

"He deserved it."

Sai recovered and grinned, "It's okay, Ino. That is Sakura's sign of friendship."

Sakura pointed threateningly at him. "When this is all over, I'll teach you a lesson about friendship you'll _never_ forget."

The rumbling of the Hachibi interrupted them.

Naruto sprouted extra arms to seize all three of his friends as his original two swelled to catch the Hachibi's hand attempting to smash them all.

Chakra dripped from the dark bijuu's limb and, like acid, the earth was devoured.

Naruto's feet dug into the ground as the Hachibi pressured him.

Just then they saw the Shukaku—who still had arms of sand wrapped around its opponent—knock into it, throwing it off balance. Naruto growled and enlarged even more to throw off the Hachibi.

As the great beast's shadow moved off of them, Naruto's body glinted in the light. Ino and Sai's flabbergasted expressions reminded Sakura once more that the power Naruto now controlled was not human.

Naruto huffed as he returned to normal size. "I'm going to try and talk some sense into Sasuke."

Sakura searched the core of the beast for their long lost teammate. "There's got to be a way to get him out of there."

"Find Madara. He's the cause of all this."

Naruto felt a painful pulse in his head.

Sakura's joking tone shallowly hid her concern. "Think you can handle Sasuke?"

He shook off his headache and nudged her, "I'll manage."

He was about to fly off when Sakura stopped him.

"Please… don't die on me."

He put a hand on her cheek. "I won't lose to the Hachibi that easily. But…" His eyes fell and Sakura was instant filled with worry. "…just in case…"

Naruto unexpectedly cupped her face and kissed her hard on the mouth. He cringed and prepared for Sakura's angry swing. She had a fist raised, but lowered it with a sigh.

Just before he flew off he said, "I love you, Sakura."

He heard her shouting after him, "I love you too, dumbass!"

Naruto moved up the Hachibi as it continued to topple and as soon as its face was in range he shouted, "HEY! Sasuke!" He noticed the Hachibi's arms seeking him out and he shot forward, giving its face a strong head-butt.

The Shukaku tried to take advantage of Naruto's distracting attacks and the sand started to encase it, crushing all it could get a grip on.

Naruto watched the Hachibi rip the Shukaku from its body and lift the dissolving mass off the ground. The sand rained down and escaped. The Shukaku tried to reconstruct itself a safe distance away, but the Hachibi relentless sought out the sand. Its mouth swelled and Naruto recognized the _Bijuudama_.

"Sasuke! Wake up, you bastard!"

Naruto launched a barrage of chakra hands, drawing focus once more.

The _Bijuudama _vanished and the Hachibi grasped for Naruto as he zipped around it like a gnat. The Shukaku was kneeling a ways away, but Naruto noticed the sand crawling along the streets and over debris, surrounding the Hachibi at its feet. He smirked at Gaara's plan.

Naruto hovered, waiting for the monster to spot him. Just as the _Bijuudama_ began to swell once more in its mouth, he flickered away. Enraged, the beast was completely ignorant of the thick walls of sand rising around it.

Naruto cackled, "You slow fuck! You couldn't catch me if you tried!"

The sand reached the Hachibi's neck and closed in.

The Hachibi's bray shook Konoha and it writhed in the sand coffin.

The pounding in Naruto's head resumed.

The Hachibi swiveled and the _Bijuudama_, growing strong, targeted the Shukaku.

Naruto attacked, but the Hachibi could tell that the Shukaku wouldn't budge, lest it lose the death grip it had finally gained on their enemy.

"Shit!" Naruto pumped his body up with power, tails forming behind him, and launched another volley. Past the Shukaku he could see Ino, Sai, and Sakura in the street trying to escape.

"Sasuke!" He took the Hachibi's head in his massive hands and tried to tug at its aim. "Stop!"

The pounding was getting stronger and he thought he might pass out.

With a revitalized growl, he got in the _Bijuudama's_ path. "Damn it, Sasuke!"

Naruto began to resemble the Kyuubi more and more. His arms pressed into the Hachibi and the monster was pushed—parting a sea of rubble below—but its target had not changed.

"Gaara, let him go!"

The condensed chakra in the Hachibi's mouth was a black hole of energy. Naruto could feel himself being drawn in.

The sand dropped and at the same time black arms jutted out. They traced the sand to the Shukaku and captured the two Jinchuuriki under the _Bijuudama_.

Naruto's head felt like it was going to explode. All thought was being burned away by an uncontrollable emotion. His clawed hand latched onto the Hachibi's jaw and he tore at it, fighting to change the direction of the _Bijuudama _as it peaked.

"WAKE UP!"

Naruto's roar became animalistic and boomed as he left behind his human form completely and embraced the Kyuubi's transformation.

"_SASUKEEEE!_"

* * *

"_Sakura… You are the only thing that I haven't lost.__"_

"_I didn't choose this!"_

He was running.

"_Sasuke. Did you kill… Juugo…?"_

_His mother's bright smile. "Welcome home!"_

"_What do you see now with those eyes?"_

Running.

"_Your brother had to make a choice—"_

_The furious cry. "SASUKE!"_

Running.

_The remnants of an illusion._

"_Is it wrong to want… a better future?"_

Endlessly.

_A calming, familiar voice. "You've gotten taller, Sasuke."_

"_Can I stay with you?" Her patient hands._

Running in the dark.

"_One day you will sacrifice too much. One day the price will be too great and the reward won't save you."_

"_Everything played out… just like he wanted."_

"_Shh," Her loving eyes as she held their child in her arms. "He's asleep."_

"_Every single one of us goes through life depending on and bound by our individual knowledge and awareness."_

There in the darkness was a flicker of light.

_His despairing plea. "Can this be the end?"_

_Her blood, pouring onto the cold ground._

"_I'm so sorry, Sasuke."_

It was the brightest light he had ever seen, pulling him into a world of warmth.

"_We call it reality."_

He reached for it, forgetting where he was going—forgetting what he was running for. He lost himself in the sunlit embrace. She was alive, a white dancing light. She embraced him and everything else fell away. There was no hurt or fear in this new world. He could watch it for a lifetime.

Still… creeping at the edges, the shadows of reality were growing around them.

"_However, both knowledge and awareness are equivocal."_

He became afraid to pull away.

"_One's reality might be another's illusion."_

They might swallow him again if he did.

"_In short, we all live inside our own fantasies."_

They might swallow her.

As if feeling the end coming, the warm light pressed him close.

"_I love you."_

Then they were ripped apart.

Sasuke tumbled on the water. A multitude below was grabbing at him, holding him as he tried to return to his last beacon of hope.

"_Sasuke!"_

He clawed his way closer to the light.

"_Wake up, you bastard!"_

This voice…?

He stopped, seeking out the source.

The light in front of him flickered, calling him.

He lunged for it. He couldn't let it go out.

Then the voice again.

"You slow fuck! You couldn't catch me if you tried!"

He felt something shake the ocean, sending ripples from him that transformed into waves. He roared, stepping strongly forward, trying to dissipate the constricting energy. What was that voice!?

The redness of the world was growing dull—fading into a grayscale. It seemed so artificial, so hollow.

"Shit!"

The voice was growing stronger, more real. He could feel it reverberating in his bones. He could feel something warming his skin, bringing life to his body trapped in the dismal ocean.

"Sasuke! Stop!"

Naruto.

He spotted a flash of something on the surface.

Naruto, a blinding glint of the sun.

"Damn it, Sasuke!"

There he was again. Moving around him in a blur. Sasuke became aware of churning energy surrounding him.

He felt like he was being choked.

"Gaara, let him go!"

The tension immediately released and the waves on the charcoal colored ocean receded. Whatever was keeping him from sinking into the ocean was weakening. The images on the water were growing stronger, seeping into the sky.

He recognized the giant face of the Shukaku, a demon he hadn't seen in years, being held under him. Gaara? That thing was Gaara?

He felt an angry power swelling in his throat, aimed at the trapped monster. Trapped by what?

"WAKE UP!"

Something was yanking at his head.

Naruto's voice distorted into a thundering roar and the face he identified as human shifted into the scowl of an earthshaking demon.

The Kyuubi.

"_SASUKEEEE!_"

His body felt large, heavy.

Sasuke yielded to the Kyuubi's grip and the monster hand pulled his head to the side. A black ball of compressed chakra rocketed into the forest, blowing it away in the blink of an eye.

Sasuke stared at the devastation in awe. Did he do that?

Naruto's grip on his jaw released.

There was stillness. He could only hear his breathing.

His limbs felt like they were stretching.

Something came into his blurry view.

An enormous black hand.

The earth below was dwarfed by it, could easily be crushed by it.

It was alive, pulsing with power.

He could feel it.

This was his hand.

The sky around him felt like a fog and Sasuke observed at the tiny world below. He let out a breath and it resonated like a guttural sigh, he felt it in his whole being, he felt the earth quiver under his feet.

Power was dripping off of him.

He noticed the Kyuubi, crouched amidst Konoha's destruction.

A numbing fire ignited in his body, his arms tensed and another seething breath flooded in and out of him.

Rage.

The Kyuubi bristled and expanded. Its size started to match his.

The nine tails whipping around behind it were goading him, daring him to attack.

A voice from the depth of his mind spoke. It was fuzzy and subdued, _"Why is it happening?"_

As the two demons circled, the eerie clouds circled with them.

Was it his voice? He couldn't tell.

"_This world is so warped… so lost. Why do we keep getting up after falling so far?"_

The Kyuubi charged at him and Sasuke threw it over his shoulder. A tail wrapped around his hand and the demon slingshot back, bashing him in the face.

"_Why does this world deserve to exist?"_

Blow after blow, there was no pain. No fatigue.

He could go on forever.

"_Why can't we just give it up?"_

High above them, far out of their awareness, the moon was strengthening. Lost in the throes of animalistic hate, they couldn't see the red moon's gleam outmatch the sun. They couldn't see the faint tomoe appear on its surface.

As the demon chakras continued to build on top of one another, they couldn't see the sky turn black.

* * *

Hinata watched in terror as her team fell into the belly of the beast.

Gai and Shikamaru had just hit bottom—the surface of an underground lake that glowed green as illuminating chakra flowed through the sprawling roots of a gargantuan tree. As soon as they jostled the water, hundreds of Zetsu sentinels were awakened.

The two shinobi were overcome with enemies and the others were still falling, unable to help.

Chouji's voice rang in the cavern.

"_Chou Baika no Jutsu!_"

A giant expanded overhead, and Shikamaru and Gai fled his shadow before he struck the lake and the army of Zetsu with his body.

Like a giant cannonball, Chouji created massive waves that lashes against the edges of the cave and sent the Zetsu tumbling.

Shikamaru and Gai settled on his back, safe—for now.

Shizune and Lee landed and rode the waves as the Zetsu started to resurface.

Chouji's advantageous size was short lived when he began sinking in the fathomless lake. He didn't have enough energy to spare in that state in order to stay on the surface.

With the lake calming, the Zetsu swarmed.

Chouji swatted at them—and seemed successful at keeping them at bay—but he cried out in agony.

The water changed from green to black around Chouji's torso.

Hinata, still in the air, could see the enemies, like predator fish, making a beeline to their new target.

"Shikamaru! The water!"

He put his hands in a seal, "_Doryuu Jouheki!_"

The whole cave shook as the earth lifted Chouji out of the lake.

Thick roots rose with it, casting the green light onto the distant walls.

On Chouji's chest and legs a cluster of Zetsu had latched themselves, stabbing at him with scraggly branches sprouting on their arms. He scraped them off in seconds.

With a solid surface to stand on, Chouji was back in the game.

Hinata splashed in the middle of the fray and began knocking the hordes away in order to reach her teammates.

The numbers of the Zetsu were to the shinobi's benefit.

With the swing of his arm, Chouji could take out countless enemies. Meanwhile, his comrades could protect his lower half by fighting at his feet.

"_Kagemane no Jutsu!_"

Shimakaru used his shadows to control a few Zetsu, manipulating them to be his shields.

"_Ori Doku!_" Behind Chouji, Shizune cast poisonous mist across the lake.

Lee joined them with gusto. "_Moro Renge!_"

Throbbing energy radiated off of Lee and Hinata stared with her Byakugan as his seventh chakra gate was opened.

He rocketed out into the crowd, taking out dozens of opponents with ever attack.

While their effort was impressive, they wouldn't last more than a few minutes at that pace.

Shikamaru knew this.

"Chouji, take down that tree! We'll cover you! _Doryuuheki!_"

More of the rocky path rose and stretched two hundred feet long, leading to the trunk of the tree.

Chouji got a running start, his steps shaking the rock that supported them.

He jumped through the air, power condensing in his hands.

Optimism flooded through them all.

When the tree fell, so would the Zetsu.

"_CHOUHARITE!_"

His fists turned to rock and he struck the trunk with a barrage of punches.

While still focusing on keeping the Zetsu horde off of Chouji, they kept an eye on the tree, watching—waiting—for the cracking sound that would save them.

But there was none.

Chouji bellowed in frustration, putting more energy into his strikes.

But the tree didn't budge.

Hinata was startled when Gai busted open his seventh gate right next to her.

He sent a battering ram of chakra out in front of him and galloped on the cleared path to the tree.

Hinata saw his chakra solidify around him into the face of a giant tiger.

"_HIRUDORA!_"

Gai's explosion struck the trunk and knocked them all down, creating waves on the lake once more.

Hinata protected her face from the spraying water.

A heavy crack resounded.

The Zetsu started to frenzy around them. Panicked.

Then Gai's joyous voice spurred them on. "Keep it up, Chouji!"

Without a second's hesitation, Chouji's barrage began once more.

The cracks were small, but they were adding up.

Just as hope was growing in them, Lee hit the water.

His _Renge_ had come to an end.

Shizune was at his side in an instant, sending out another strategic toxic haze to protect him as she investigated his injuries.

Shizune felt his torn muscles, low level of chakra, and fragile bones that had been sucked dry by the opening of the seventh gate. Hinata stood between them and the oncoming Zetsu as Shizune's healing hands started their work.

"We've got to get him out of here!"

The first of their friends had fallen. The first crack in their own defense.

It was their turn to feel panic.

Shikamaru, who had gradually been pushed further and further from the group, gritted his teeth. His web of shadows spread through the Zetsu, impaling and throwing them. "We can't stop now!"

So soon, they were coming apart.

Five against hundreds?

If the tree didn't come down, they would all die on that lake.

Out of the corner of her eye, Hinata saw something fly out of the dark and head straight for the tree.

Something white, moving fast.

The Byakugan identified it almost too late.

"Chouji, look out!"

The creature swooped by the trunk as Chouji drew back.

An explosion went off in his face, sending the giant flying.

* * *

The room was bare, but for a few bland paintings. The air was stale.

Ino stepped through the door and laughed, "This place looks abysmal." Sai followed after her and knelt on the floor by the strictly made bed. "It's so empty… Did you just move in?"

Sai felt around on the wood floor for something—a tiny hole. "No. This is how it's always looked." When he found it, he used a senbons to press into it.

The wooden board released with a pop and Sai uncovered an emergency stock of ink, paper, brushes, and a slew of weapons that barely fit inside the compartment. He started restocking as Ino surveyed the room.

She shook her head, "We've got to fix that." She walked to one of the paintings. "There's no way I'm spending any time in a place this gloomy."

Sai was confused by her meaning. "Are _you_ moving in?"

Ino's face flushed and she stuttered as she backpedaled, "N-No! I just meant… Well…" Her voice trailed off. The painting stung her. It was of the view of Konoha from out his window as it had once been. "I guess Konoha is too wrecked to return to anyway…"

He pondered this and said, "Your flower shop… I wonder if it's still intact."

She shrugged and ambled past him to the window, "Who knows."

He replaced the board and walked toward her. "If not, we'll just have to build a better one."

She felt his hand brush her hair from her neck. Heat surged in her face.

Just as she started to turn to see him, she noticed another pair of eyes.

Sakura was crouched on the other side of the window, staring at Ino. They had told to stay station outside and keep an eye out for Zetsu.

Ino's face glowed red as she pressed against the window frame to get some space between them. "D-Do you have everything?"

He smiled his simple smile, "Yes, I just finished—"

All three of them became alert when a large group of Zetsu closed in on their position.

They ducked and hid their presence.

The group was drawing near when a figure shot ahead—a person they had not detected—then came the Zetsu following fervently after.

Sakura gasped and launched off the roof.

The other two caught up and Sakura answered their unspoken questions, "That was Deidara. He was partnered with Madara in the Akatsuki, last I saw him." The three passed by a handful of Zetsu corpses. Clearly whatever partnership they had was now over. "He'll lead us to Madara, I'm sure of it."

Ahead of them, the group of Zetsu had managed to corner Deidara.

Sakura squinted, "What is he…?"

Ino and Sai couldn't understand why the soundless battle was so surprising to Sakura.

Deidara wasn't using his trademark explosives.

Before Ino or Sai could react, Sakura sprinted into the fight.

Deidara knocked away another Zetsu and was met by Sakura's kunai.

His eyes were wild with recognition, then excitement.

"Long time no see, missy!"

He caught her kunai in his sleeve and wrapped it around her hand, ripping the fabric but stealing the weapon.

"Aw, I just got this cloak!"

Sakura produced another kunai and met blades with him.

When one of the Zetsu got in between them by accident, Sakura super punched it at Deidara, throwing him back enough to use her deadly force on the road, burying half of their enemies and taking Deidara by complete surprise.

Sakura saw him flinch on the crumbling ground and could tell instantly that his leg was injure, or had been recently.

That opportunity was more than enough for Sakura to close the space between them once more. She kicked his bad leg out from under him and flung him on his back.

Just as the Zetsu prepared to pounce—Ino and Sai intervened and protected her.

She pinned him with her forearm, using the other to hold his armed hand. Her knee pressed on his other wrist. "Where is your partner?"

Deidara's struggle was half-hearted. Unlike many of the antisocial shinobi Sakura had grown accustomed to, Deidara was not opposed to chit-chat in the middle of a match.

"Why? You got a bone to pick with him, too?"

Sakura sneered, "Something like that."

He laughed at her bristled attitude. "No offence, missy, but you're a little out of your league."

"We'll see about that."

"Sakura! Hurry up!"

The number of Zetsu was increasing again.

Sakura pressed into his neck. "Spill it, Deidara. Where is Madara?"

Her determined expression made something change in Deidara.

He snickered, "Guess it's not a bad idea to let you kiddies bat the bees nest…"

"What are you talking about?"

He ripped his arms out of her grip into a seal. Sakura tried to choke his voice before he could cast a jutsu, but she was too late.

"_Moguragakure no Jutsu!_"

He was gone into the dirt.

Sakura slammed an angry fist onto the ground.

"Deidara!"

His voice drew her attention, "If anyone is bringing Tobi down, it's me!"

He was on the run.

"Ino, Sai! Let's go!"

They threw off their adversaries and the chase began again.

They could just barely follow the tail of Deidara's cloak.

Sakura's instincts were telling her he was keeping them close on purpose.

He was leading them somewhere.

Sai stared at their surroundings, worried.

Sakura noticed, "Where are we, Sai?"

"He's taking us into Root."

They went through a tunnel of red torii—tall gates of wood.

Ahead there was a large hole in the ground with a bridge connecting to the other side. Deidara jumped off of it.

Their feet echoed on the wood. They halted at the center of the bridge and stared into the hole where red bridges crisscrossed into darkness.

"What's down there?"

"I don't know." Sai's face was bleak. "Entering any further was strictly forbidden for operatives."

Sakura sneered, "Then we must be going the right way."

Sakura got on the railing.

The other two joined her, staring into the unknown.

With a settling breath, she stepped off.

As they fell the bridges flew past them and Sakura spotted more roots breaching the walls of the sinkhole.

She hit a bridge and she rebounded, landing gracefully on another.

Sai and Ino joined her.

Ino gazed around her and murmured with amazement. "No wonder it's called 'Root'. Look at this place."

"Sakura…" Sai called her cautiously.

Sakura followed his gaze.

The base of the sinkhole was in sight. There at the bottom was a shadowy doorway marked with another torii. This one was overgrown with roots.

Through it went Deidara's faint trail. And inside it, the unmistakable trace of Zetsu.

She gave them a wary glance.

Ino sighed, "We are _definitely _going the right way."

They jumped again, a little more apprehensive than before.

They reached the bottom and paused beneath the red gate.

The mouth of the tunnel seemed ominous.

Sakura rolled her shoulders and sprinted into the tunnel.

Once the light from outside faded, they were led by their senses. The floor was soft, and the cool breeze coming at them instructed which way to turn.

Sai was about to light a flare when they noticed something.

There was a faint glowing around them. As their eyes adjusted they realized the light was coming from the roots.

Now, the illumination revealed what lined the floor of the tunnel.

The corpses of Zetsu.

Deidara had cleared their path.

Soon the tunnel started to widen and the end was in sight.

Sai perked, "Do you hear that!?"

Faintly, the sounds of a skirmish echoed ahead of them.

They raced to the opening.

As they came out, their feet sloshed.

The havoc that lay before them sent chills down their spines.

Hundreds upon hundreds of Zetsu were scrambling over one another to attack the small band of shinobi at the other side of the enormous cave.

"Look!" Ino pointed after Deidara.

He was curving around Zetsu's formation with a growing ball of clay in his hands.

Just as Ino was about to shout a warning to their friends in combat, she was tackled from behind.

The Zetsu trailing them had finally found them.

Ino grabbed her foe and threw him.

They faced the tunnel as more enemies came pouring out.

Sai pitied their bad luck.

He produced an ink stick from his pack, broke it in half, and dropped it into the water.

The ink spread, making the tainted part of the lake his playing area.

Ino and Sakura left those unfortunate Zetsu to him and sprinted towards the other struggle.

Ino was at a loss. Her mind transfer jutsu was basically useless with so many enemies around.

Sakura, on the other hand, was mowing down enemies, hardly hindered by their retaliation.

"_HIRUDORA!_"

Gai's booming voice was unmistakable and neither was the shockwave that followed. The water rolled and nearly threw them into the current. They managed to keep their footing and followed Deidara's path. He had wheedled his way into the middle of the disorder, but Deidara didn't have Sakura's super fists and she was gaining on him.

Voices kept tugging Ino's focus. "Keep it up, Chouji!"

With the strong waves getting in his way, Deidara led them off the water and onto the roots weaving in the rock.

The Zetsu were coming from everywhere, congesting right between them and Deidara.

"We've got to get him out of here!"

Shikamaru's voice made Ino hesitate.

Sakura, seeing this, ordered her, "Stay back!"

Ino snapped to what was ahead. The Zetsu were everywhere. She faltered, knowing Sakura couldn't protect her in that mess. Ino glanced around and saw black vines threading together Zetsu and flinging them just a little ways from where she stood. She recognized the technique immediately and sprinted to meet the shinobi responsible.

"We can't stop now!"

She ran up the middle of the Zetsu's formation as they crept out of the lake at Shikamaru's back.

She jump kicked one, knocking it into the water.

"Ino!?"

Shikamaru's face was blank with shock.

Behind him, Ino spotted Sakura hustling closely behind Deidara.

Just when she thought Deidara was in Sakura's grasp, he was enveloped in a puff of white.

Soaring out of it was a white dragon, with him riding on its back. In his arms was another clay creation—a C3 bomb.

Hinata shouted, "Chouji, look out!"

His teammates watched, petrified, as Chouji leaned away and gather protective chakra at the front of his body just as Deidara's dragon flew into the tree.

Deidara dropped the bomb and, the instant it hit, it exploded.

They were all launched back.

Shikamaru grabbed Ino, protecting her.

The heat and earthshaking power sent them into the water, tossed about by waves.

Chouji's shrunken shape zoomed overhead.

"_Chouji—!_"

Her voice was suffocated and she stared into the watery abyss.

The Zetsu were swimming at them.

She tugged on Shikamaru's arm, but he appeared to have lost consciousness.

Ino searched for the surface and kicked her legs hard.

She pulled him to the air and gasped for breath.

Their swimming enemies suddenly they froze and drifted, unmoving.

The Zetsu were dead.

All of them.

Shikamaru coughed as he came to.

"Look!"

He peered at the tree.

It was destroyed. The top and bottom were severed entirely.

The branches and roots started to shrivel. The glowing light in them died and the shinobi were all plunged into darkness.

All the light that was left came from the feeble opening Chouji had made in the top of the cavern.

Then, a gut-wrenching sound split the silence.

Not from the tree, but the earth itself.

A crack.

A rumbling started to intensify and light split the ceiling.

Deidara's clay beast came into view. He sent out small birds ahead of him and they detonated along the roof of the cave. Out of the gap he created, Deidara escaped.

Near them they heard a loud splashing.

The cave was going to collapse.

Ino dragged Shikamaru to the surface and they started to flee.

"Wait!" She reined him in and searched in the darkness. "Chouji! Chouji, can you hear me!?"

With a thundering crack, the gap Shikamaru and the others had entered through, closed up, and crashing through the roof came the top of a building.

Light flooded in, and huge chunks of earth along with it.

Ino spotted Chouji floating and went after him.

"_Kage Nui no Jutsu!_" Shikamaru's sewing shadow created a net over them and caught a boulder, shoving it away to hit and shower them in its splash.

"Chouji!" When Ino reached him, she turned him over.

He had slimmed. His face and chest were covered in burns, but they were minor.

The Akimichi clan's famous ability to convert calories to chakra had saved him from the explosion.

Shikamaru guarded against another rock and helped get Chouji.

They started running again when a red light ignited at the edge of the cave.

Sai's flare.

They sprinted to the tunnel as Ino called out. "Sai! Help us!"

She saw something move beneath them and out of the water rose a shark of ink.

They mounted it and it ferried them across, trying to dodge oncoming rocks. Shikamaru knocked most others away.

They were almost there when debris, too big for Shikamaru to stop, smashed them into the lake and dispelled the jutsu. Blinded by the inky water, they struggled to the surface.

Shikamaru got his footing first and protected them with the wiry shadows as Ino retrieved Chouji.

Sai met them and he helped carry Chouji to safety. Shikamaru's shadows dispelled. He was exhausted.

Sai asked, "Are you okay?"

"I can still carry him." Shikamaru started to haul Chouji onto his back.

"Let me help."

Through coughs, Ino yelled, "Where is Sakura!? Why didn't she come back?"

"I don't know, but if we don't hurry the tunnel might cave in too—"

"Hinata! Lee!" Ino walked out onto the lake and called to the others. "_Over here!_ SAKURA!"

"Ino, what're you doing!?" Shikamaru yanked her as a rock hit near where she had been.

"We can't just leave them!"

Another resounding crack was the end of the cave.

A rain of dust descended and, with a loud rumble, another building crashing in, pushing the first further into the cavern.

"There they are! Run, Hinata! _RUN!_"

Going in and out of the dark, Ino saw Hinata and Gai meet Shizune's speed as she carried Lee on her back.

In a last ditch effort, Sai sent out a small armada of ink sharks.

They dodged the incoming rocks easily enough underwater, but the roof was coming in too quickly. Ino dropped to her knees as the falling earth cut the sharks off and dispelled them.

Ino watched in horror as her friends moved further out of sight, into a dead end.

They were cut off from view by a wall of endless cement.

"They aren't going to make it."

* * *

The sounds of the rubble splashing all around—sending waves crashing into them—and the thunderous rumbling were all muted by Hinata's ears, still ringing from Deidara's explosions.

Shizune and Lee were fleeing far ahead of her. Gai was close behind.

They were surrounded by falling pieces of the buildings above.

Gai's voice was barely audible amidst the noise. "We've got to climb!"

He was right. If they could beat the destruction, they could scale their way to the outside.

The light cut in and out as obstructions fell through the hole. The four shinobi sprinted in the dark to where they believed the wall was.

A large chunk hit behind them and sent an unseen wave, throwing Hinata off her feet.

Somewhere in the distance she thought she heard her name echo in the space.

In the darkness, Hinata called, "Is everyone alright?"

Her teammates' responses were drowned out by a deafening crack.

Hinata was blinded by the abrupt light.

She looked above and her breath caught.

Two buildings were descending on top of her.

Gai gripped her arm and pulled her into a dash.

"We're almost there!"

She caught up to Shizune and grabbed Lee by his other arm. They carried him together, the edge of the cave in sight.

Eyes to the ceiling, they maneuvered around the incoming rocks, but the collapse was catching up to them. If they didn't start climbing before the buildings hit the water, they would be trapped and drowned.

Lee started to come to his senses.

"Hinata…?"

"Hold on, Lee—!"

Shizune cut her off, "_Gai!_ What are you doing? Hurry!"

Hinata spotted Gai far behind them. She hadn't even noticed him lagging.

He was still, calm, as the collapse surrounded him in shadow.

He put his hands together into seals that Lee seemed to recognize. He struggled and the two kunoichi carrying him fought to hold on.

"_Sensei! NO!_"

Gai just smiled. "_Shimon!_"

Just as they were about to be swallowed by the destruction, Gai's chakra swelled and the rubble was slowed.

His skin was blood red, veins popping.

But his face was serene.

"_Enen Kouken._"

The energy solidified into a fiery armored warrior. It bulked, hoisting the buildings and halting the cave-in with its arms. With the protective glow of Gai's jutsu, they could see what Gai had done. The mass of the jutsu was filling the small space that remained.

Along the wall of the cave, there was one pillar of light from the outside.

An exit.

"Go. I won't be able to hold it for long."

Shizune and Hinata dragged Lee and his torn limbs as he tried to break free. They reached the wall and climbed. Their near depleted chakra had them barely hanging on, but Hinata wouldn't give up.

From above, they heard voices. Her Byakugan spotted Neji and the others on the surface. They must have been drawn in by destruction.

Hinata shouted, "Neji! We're in here!"

His voice was muffled. "Hinata?"

They were halfway up when Neji's face appeared.

Dust trickled and the rubble shifted above them. The rocks fell, but Gai's guardian hand shot out, shielding them and keeping the opening clear.

Tenten yelled out of view, "Are you guys alright!?"

They both extended helping hands to Hinata and Shizune.

Lee grabbed Neji, yanking hard on his arm.

"PLEASE!" Lee shouting with tears streaming, "SAVE GAI-SENSEI!"

Neji caught sight of the glowing hand and followed it to the source.

His eyes went wide.

Before Gai's students could move to help him, their sensei spoke.

"It's alright. I've already opened the final gate. There's nothing you can do. " His skin was returning to its normal color. His muscles in his arms tightened, like taut threads, then snap. He jerked, almost buckling over. The fiery guardian wavered. "We'll have to say goodbye here."

Tenten cried, "We can't just leave you here, sensei!"

He choked, blood dribbled on his chin. The tendons in his legs tore and he hit the water. He started to sink, unable to properly control his chakra. Even so, his hands were still in a seal and the guardian stayed strong.

"To live and die protecting those that are precious to you… that is the goal of a true shinobi! Since the day you all became my students, my dream has been for you to become the most splendid ninja possible. You have fulfilled that dream over and over again." He gave them his trademark smile. "Now go! Live your youthful lives to the fullest!"

Reluctantly, Hinata heaved Lee up. Shino and Kiba were waiting and lifted him out of the opening, sitting him down. Then came Tenten, Shizune, and Hinata. Finally, Neji dragged himself to solid ground.

The guardian's hand retracted from the cave wall, letting the rocks start to fall.

They heard Gai's loud voice above the growing rumble.

"I'm proud of you all."

He released the seal and the guardian started to fade.

His three students stayed fixed on Gai.

The roof collapsed and buried him.

Neji muttered, his head down, "Goodbye, sensei."

Lee wailed as Shizune worked to heal the damage opening the seventh gate had done to him. Tenten fell beside him, holding him as he wept.

The rest were frozen by the loss.

Hinata viewed the destruction before her. The ground had eaten the core of Konoha. Streets that were still intact were lying on top of one another like a shuffled box of puzzle pieces. The blocks surrounding the sinkhole had been leveled. The buildings that had toppled in were protruding from the rubble. Their windows reflected nothing. The afternoon sun was blocked out, leaving them with a bleak sky. It was as if she was still trapped in the cave.

Across the vast emptiness, the sky seemed to be revolving around the bijuu's conflict like the eye of a storm.

After a long silence, Neji spoke quietly to her. "What happened? Did you find the core?"

Her voice hitched, "Yes. But we couldn't destroy it. Chouji tried—" Her heart thudded painfully at the realization that two more were missing from their team. "Deidara of the Akatsuki set off a bomb. Then I guess we were separated. I-I don't know where Shikamaru or Chouji are… The c-cave started to collapse when the core was destroyed."

"So it's over?"

Hinata's lip quivered at the thought of losing two others. Three lives for the price of defeating the enemy's forces.

"Y-yes. It's over."

He nodded solemnly. "Good." Then he took a calm breath and turned to Shizune. "Take Lee out of here. We should find whoever is left and regroup."

Lee sniffled, "I… I can still…" He started to stand, but the arm he pushed off of made a crunching sound and he fell. Shizune caught him before he smacked his head into the ground.

"Stop! Don't make it worse for yourself."

He tried again, Shizune was too afraid to hold him too harshly in case she injured him. Neji was not so hesitant.

He shoved Lee over who yelped in pain.

"Sensei died so that you could live. Don't waste his sacrifice." His cold words stopped Lee.

Tears dropped from his face like rain. He gripped his injured hands against his knees.

Neji crouched in front of him. "Retreat for now. You can pay him back by living through this day."

Lee sobbed, but nodded.

The others gave Shizune provisions. She lifted Lee onto her back and was escorted by a small legion of Shino's insects.

When Shizune and Lee were out of their field of vision, Neji ordered the rest to move out.

Hinata gave the cave one last glance before taking off.

How many had they lost? Were Shikamaru and Chouji buried in that cold grave as well?

And how many more would they lose?

* * *

Kakashi, Genma, and Temari were hot on Madara's trail.

His Sharingan was aching, telling him rather than showing him that Obito was near.

The now cataclysmic battle of three fully transformed bijuu had his mind swimming.

Would killing his childhood friend put an end to this nightmare?

"Kakashi!"

His Sharingan locked on a small white bird merging with their path.

It exploded right in the middle, separating them.

Through the cloud of smoke, Deidara appeared on a large clay dragon. Temari glided too close and the beast's tail came down on her fan, sending her spiraling.

The dragon opened its mouth and an agile white bird flew out.

Kakashi and Genma landed next to each other on the street and, before they could rush to Temari's rescue, Deidara swooped in their path.

Genma spat his lucky senbon past Deidara's face, piercing the bird and pinning it to the road. It exploded at the same time Temari hit the ground.

She showed no signs of moving.

Genma armed himself with senbon as Deidara's dragon spat out more tiny dynamite birds.

He artfully took them down one by one—severing wings, pinning them together—until his senbon ran out. Deidara smirked as he targeted Temari once more. The birds Genma stopped exploded, creating a smoke screen.

With the Sharingan, Kakashi saw the chakra in the dragon gather at its mouth.

"Here comes more of them!"

"Give me your pouch!"

Kakashi reflexively ripped it off his side and threw it at Genma as he ran around the hidden Deidara.

In the dust cloud Deidara's dragon started to pounce, but Kakashi was ready.

"_Doryuuheki!_"

A barrier of rock knocked back the dragon and protected Genma.

He whipped out a senbon, disrupting the bird, and it exploded in air.

The dragon flapped its wings, blowing away the dust.

Deidara stared at Kakashi and, when he saw Kakashi's red eye, bellowed, "Uchiha!"

The dragon slashed at Kakashi and he rolled out of the way.

Genma knelt by Temari and shook her awake. "Are you okay?"

She brushed him off and stood, searching for her fan. "Where the hell did that guy come from!?"

Kakashi leapt and stuck to the wall of a building. Deidara's dragon charged forward and prepared to take off after him.

Genma and Temari dashed to help. While the kunoichi sent a blast of wind, knocking the beast off balance, Genma launched a kunai with wire attached. It wrapped around the base of the dragon's wing.

When the beast took flight, Genma dug his heels into the ground. Temari snatched the end of the wire and they heaved.

The wire dug into the clay and the wing was severed. The dragon roared in Kakashi's face and he scaled the wall quickly. The dragon dug its claws into the side of the structure to keep from falling. Deidara went up its neck and spring boarded off its head.

The former Akatsuki flipped and landed. Kakashi dove forward, kicking him in the stomach. He engaged Deidara in close quarters where he wouldn't be able to use explosions.

Behind Kakashi the dragon was slithering onto the roof.

He noticed a quaking and was awestruck when he saw what was happening in the distance. Block by block, buildings were shaking, then disappearing in a plume of dust.

He suddenly noticed tremors in the roof underfoot.

Deidara tried to take advantage of Kakashi while he was distracted, but Kakashi caught Deidara's punch and their taijutsu battle heated up.

Where were Genma and Temari?

Deidara swept his leg under Kakashi, but he jumped. His returning kick missed as Deidara bent backwards, flinging his leg to brush Kakashi's jaw. Kakashi caught that foot and flung him to the side.

"_Endan!_"

He shot fire bullets at Deidara, who barely managed to dodge.

The dragon roared as it sprouted another wing and slammed its tail between him and Deidara. It opened its new wing and swatted Kakashi.

The domino of buildings was coming at them and the structure was suddenly teetering beneath them.

He saw Temari and Genma appear on a roof in the distance. Under Temari's arm was her damaged fan. They were getting further and further from the vast sinkhole opening in the middle of Konoha.

Deidara mounted the dragon and it nearly knocked the building over as it pushed off into flight.

"Sorry, I can't waste time playing around with a fake Uchiha. I've got a special delivery for the real thing!"

Obito.

The building started to sag and Kakashi hopped to the next. He followed under the belly of the dragon and scanned behind him for Genma and Temari.

They had vanished, hopefully gliding away from the destruction on a freshly repaired fan.

He looked to Deidara and the wire dangling from the clay beast.

Like the thread of fate, it would lead him to Obito.

* * *

The air was vibrating with power.

The earth was quivering in pain.

Genma and Temari ran along what seemed like the edge of the world.

The ground was crumbling beneath them.

"Get that damn fan fixed, Temari!"

"It's not that easy to do while running!"

"And where the hell is Kakashi!?"

"You're the one that left him behind!"

"I didn't leave him! I followed you when you shot off after your stupid fan! And _now_ look where we are!"

In their attempt to avoid the sinkhole, they had accidentally pinned themselves between the vanishing ground and the bijuu's angry battle. Not long ago, the Shukaku was a welcoming sight. Temari now feared that her little brother was going to unintentionally step on her.

She was transfixed on the demons.

It appeared to her that Gaara was by far the smallest of the three.

And that difference in size was increasing.

The Kyuubi and Hachibi were tangled in each other. The energy swirling around in the atmosphere seemed to be absorbed by them. Gaara, on the other hand, seemed to be shrinking. The Shukaku was cracking.

"Hurry with that fan!"

Their ground was almost out.

The Shukaku crossed into their path and started to descend into the hole. The sand was losing shape.

"Gaara!"

Temari flipped open the fan and manhandled the wayward sticks that had broken loose. She wrapped the end, tying the rivet together in a messy knot of wire. It could still break, but there wasn't time.

She sprinted to Genma, seized him by the waist, and jumped off the edge of the deepening cliff.

She kept a firm hand on the rivet. The weakened ribs of her fan creaked under their weight and she manipulated the wind with all of her strength.

They closed in on the Shukaku's falling form.

There in the center of its forehead, Gaara was uncovered by the dissolving sand.

"Get him, Genma!"

Temari held on desperately to the fan as it shook in the wind she created.

Genma leaned over and grabbed Gaara's clothes, pulling him out of the sand, and quickly got an arm wrapped around his torso.

They crash-landed on solid ground.

Temari abandoned the fan and went to Gaara.

He was barely conscious. "Temari?"

His chakra level wasn't low, but he seemed completely sapped.

The growling thunderstorm swelling above drew her attention.

The Kyuubi and Hachibi were battling harder now, and every move seemed to have the world shifting with them.

"Is that really Naruto?"

Gaara sat up. "They're absorbing the other bijuu…"

Temari spat, "How is that possible? The Juubi was destroyed!"

"No, it didn't die. The bijuu lost their shape and scattered. Now they are gathering again…" All three saw the growing power of the wrestling demons. "…and those twoare becoming the Juubi."

Genma was in complete disbelief, then he saw something in his peripheral.

A small rock lifted off the ground.

Then another.

He peered closer at the base of where the bijuu were standing.

There were chunks of rubble levitating all around them and something was oozing from the Hachibi. A black liquid that was spreading rapidly.

Nearby, a fire that had been dying flared, sending sparks and igniting the corpses beside it.

The fire died, then flared again.

Genma felt his hair raise. Static in the air.

The elements were descending into chaos.

That's when it appeared.

All eyes locked on the outline of a person in the distance.

"Who… is that?"

They got Gaara standing again and watched the figure approach.

Gaara's head swiveled to the side. In an instant his chakra pulverized the ground into sand and spikes shot into the enemies that had snuck up on their left.

Gaara gagged at the smell that hit him.

Burning flesh.

Hunched before him, skewered by his sand spears, were soldiers. Their headbands had Ame and Konoha's symbols.

Temari unleashed her wind cutter, knocking away more that seemed to be collecting around them.

Their skin was sickly gray, covered in black veins. The husks draped over Gaara's spikes moved again, casting their blind eyes to the three panicked shinobi.

Gaara shoved them with the sand. "Run!"

Temari and Genma didn't have to be told twice.

They retreated.

More of the gray shinobi were coming out of the woodwork.

"Fly us out of here, Temari!"

"In its condition my fan can't carry all three of us."

"I thought you fixed it!"

Gaara's head was pounding once more. He could feel the Shukaku struggling inside of him.

"What are those things!?"

He felt heat hitting the side of his face—a burning sensation not unlike the glare of the sun. He saw the source and finally understood.

Hell had opened up.

"The dead." The glowing red moon reflected in Gaara's eyes. "The dead are rising."

Gaara grasped at his hammering head. He was slowing down.

"Come on Gaara!"

"The Shukaku is being sucked in. I don't know if I can hold on much longer."

In front of them, the street burst open.

Genma moaned noisily, "Great! Now what!"

A hand stuck out of the ground in a fist.

Then another.

The hands slammed down and hauled a head out of the dirt.

A head with pale pink hair.

Genma was stunned.

He raced to the hole as more gray corpses closed in and jump kicked the first few.

A wall of sand cleared away the rest.

Genma grabbed the hand and towed Sakura out of the earth.

Sakura coughed, covered in dirt and mud.

"What a pleasant surprise!" Genma ruffled her hair, shaking out the rocks. "By far the best of the day!"

* * *

"There's nothing more we can do!"

Ino tried to knock Shikamaru off her, "They could still be alive! We have to go back!"

"It's all caved in. There's nothing left, Ino."

They came out of the mouth of the tunnel and under the torii.

Ino continued, "But they could still…"

Chouji leaned into her, hugging her gently. "They're a strong bunch. I won't believe that they died in that place."

Ino cried quietly, "Sakura… Just when I found you again…"

Sai and Shikamaru gave her some space and spoke to each other.

"With the Zetsu gone, Madara is next."

"We stumbled across another Akatsuki… Deidara. He was looking for Madara as well."

Shikamaru sighed. "Yeah, well. He escaped after setting off those bombs."

"I can scout for him. If he's still flying around, I'll find him."

"Go." He motioned to his two teammates. "We'll try to pick up a trail on the ground."

Sai dug in his pouch and handed Shikamaru a flare. "If anything happens, set it off."

Ino walked over to them and tugged on Sai's hand.

"Be careful."

He put his palm to her cheek. "I'll be right back."

She scowled, "You better be."

He opened a scroll to create an ink bird and flew out of the hole.

Shikamaru stared at all the climbing they had ahead of them with a sigh. "So troublesome."

They slowly leapt from bridge to bridge. Chouji's chakra was almost out and his injuries were taking a toll on him.

While they rested at the half way point, Shikamaru noticed something dripping down the rock.

A black liquid.

"We should get moving."

"Give me a break, Shikamaru. I'm worn out." Then Chouji saw the strange waterfall. "What is that stuff?"

Shikamaru grumbled, "Whatever it is, it's probably bad news."

Chouji huffed and jumped to the next bridge.

"Take your time!" Ino yelled after him, "Ah, geez."

They reached the top and paced through Root's compound.

The purplish ooze was everywhere.

Shikamaru knelt next to it. "There's chakra running through it. Can you feel it?"

Ino noticed someone getting out of the puddle.

"Hello?"

The shinobi turn around, revealing a gaping wound in its stomach.

"SHIKAMARU!" She stumbled and fell. Her palm hit the ooze and it immediately burned. She jerked and saw the black searing its way into her skin.

All around them there were bodies rising.

"How is this possible?"

Ino searched for signs of life in them but all she saw were traces of the ghostly chakra in their systems.

She wiped her hand on her clothes, but the mark did not fade. "It's this stuff!"

The three teammates retreated out of Root.

The bijuu were close and the black liquid was lining the streets.

So were the corpses.

Ame's invading army and Root's defensive forces were coming to life.

By the time they arrived at the sinkhole, Chouji was panting.

They saw a few of the deceased pinned by toppled buildings, but for some reason they weren't reanimating.

"That chakra hasn't gotten to these ones yet… That stuff really _is_ controlling them."

"Kakashi?"

Shikamaru and Chouji turned to Ino. She was staring off at the lonely cliff where the Hokage's faces once watched over the village.

"He was here. And… Deidara!"

The stream of black chakra reached them just as they took off.

Ino lead the way as the dead tried to free themselves from the rubble.

There were more and more structures still standing as the sinkhole grew further from them. There was also more black coating the ground. It seemed to be crawling on the walls, like a living thing.

She glanced at her hand. The corrosive mark was spreading. The chakra stopped traveling in palm and she could barely feel her fingers.

"Ino!"

As they turned a corner, a horde of the resurrected shinobi met them.

Chouji managed to shove Ino out of the way, but he was stabbed by the closest soldier.

The others were grasping at him.

"_Kage Nui no Jutsu!_" Paper thin shadows shot out from Shikamaru's feet and caged the corpses in the alleyway.

Chouji staggered into Ino's arms.

The wound in his stomach was deep.

Ino carried Chouji while Shikamaru lead, knocking back enemies. Chouji soon became deadweight on Ino and she fell to the ground with him.

He sputtered, "I'm going to turn into one of those things."

"Shut up!" She started healing him with her good hand. "You're going to be fine."

Ino was shaking, remembering the other man she tried to heal.

She poured her energy into him, but it wasn't working. He kept pumping out blood.

"I-it's not stopping. The bleeding…"

She lifted his shirt and scanned at the wound where healed skin should be forming.

The edges of it were lined with black, like her hand. It hissed and ash seeped from his skin into the air.

Chouji read her expression and knew there was something horribly wrong. Shikamaru tensed as footsteps echoed in the neighboring street. The corpses had found them.

Chouji thrust Ino towards Shikamaru. "Leave me and get out of here!"

Shikamaru moved past her and punched him.

"Shikamaru!"

"Pick him up, Ino." He spat angrily, "As if we'd abandon you in this place!"

Chouji was stunned.

Ino tried to move him, but he repelled her.

Shikamaru prepared to punch him again. Chouji raised his arm to defend himself, but Shikamaru didn't strike.

His voice trembled. "I'd never forgive myself if I let you die before me! Get up, Chouji!"

Chouji blubbered, but didn't resist Ino again when she picked him up.

Together, the three of them walked on the black road.

They saw an open door to a half fallen building and slipped inside. Shikamaru quickly barred the door while Ino found stairs.

They climbed, ignoring the crumbling of the unstable structure.

When they got on the top floor, Shikamaru lead them to the furthest room in. He handed Ino the flare Sai had given him while he searched for whatever he could to barricade the door with.

She went to the window and shot it into the sky.

The red light resembled the moon's.

Chouji's wound had soaked him in blood. She worked on it, searching for skin that hadn't been seared open by the poisonous chakra. The charcoal color was spreading, slowly but surely.

She wouldn't let another person die in her arms.

Bit by bit, Ino found the raw parts in Chouji's deep wound and stitched them together.

Finally it stopped bleeding.

He watched her tear up. Then she beamed at him.

"See? All better."

Shikamaru was keeping tabs on the street below.

It was flooded with dead soldiers. They busted down the door in seconds and soon they could hear them trampling on the stairs.

The flare went out.

The corpses were at the final door.

Shikamaru stood at the ready with his shadows, but they were thin—weakened by his failing stamina.

The banging on the door was monotonous. They heard it split.

Then a high pitched cry paralyzed them.

A bird.

"Bit off more than you could chew, Chouji?"

In the window, Sai made his entrance.

Chouji snickered. "I guess so."

Ino resisted the temptation to smack Sai. "This is no time for jokes!"

They loaded Chouji safely onto the bird and, just as the barricade failed, they flew out of reach.

Sai peered at the begrimed streets below. "I saw the corpses coming to life and came to find you."

Ino interjected, "I spotted Kakashi's trail! If we follow, we can still—"

She was silenced by Shikamaru's hand on her shoulder.

"We'll just have to leave it to him." As the bird took them over the destroyed village, Shikamaru came to an understanding. "I know why Kakashi brought so few of us with him… I think he knew this was never a battle that could be won by numbers."

The Kyuubi's white light stood out from the abyss deepening in the center of Konoha. Under the bleak clouds and the oppressive power coming from the Hachibi, the Kyuubi was a symbol of hope.

"We've played our part. Now it's time to trust that our friends will bring this fight to an end. Whatever that end may be."

They passed Konoha's destroyed wall and the weight of the air seemed to vanish.

Chouji grunted.

Ino checked his wound, to see if the blackness had spread.

The ash seeped out of him and flowed toward Konoha.

His skin returned to its natural color.

Ino tested her healing on it once more and his flesh accepted it. She sealed his wound completely, then stared at her own hand.

The black spot was gone.

Chouji touched his stomach. Relief was apparent on his face. Then he gazed at the storm clouds they were leaving behind.

The moon's ghostly red light still followed them.

"This doesn't seem real."

Ino gripped her healed hand, "I have a feeling the flower shop didn't make it."

Sai wrapped his arms around her and squeezed. "We'll build a new one."

Their fight was already over.

Their fate was now in the hands of those battling in hellfire.

* * *

Sakura was surrounded in darkness.

By pressing her chakra out, she had managed to keep the rubble from crushing her, but now she was trapped alive in her grave.

She was pinned against the rock wall. She could feel a root of the lifeless tree against her stomach.

Up was the only way out.

She punched and dirt fell into her face. The rubble was slightly softer than the unforgiving rock that scraped against her cheek.

Punch, dig, and squeeze.

She dug alongside the rock, following it and hoping it would lead her to the surface.

Punch and dig.

Dig.

Over and over until her hands felt numb and cold.

Her face was starting to tingle with the lack of oxygen.

Was she even going up?

What if she was mistaken?

What if she had just burrowed deeper?

She was too tired to despair.

Punch and dig.

Punch.

Again and again.

Punch.

Punch!

Warm air hit her fist. It moved freely.

She thrust out with her other hand, making the hole wide enough for her to breath.

She gasped, inhaling dirt.

Weakly, she kicked the walls of her tunnel.

She pushed her head out and spied around woozily.

Where had she come up?

Then something grabbed her hand coarsely.

Her shoulder stretched in its socket as she was pulled out.

She continued to cough. Choking on her dry throat.

"What a pleasant surprise!"

She felt the calloused hand tousle her hair.

She held herself steady with her hands on her knees, grinning.

What a pleasant surprise, indeed.

"By far the best of the day!"

She saw Genma's bright face and coughed a laugh.

"You're looking a little rough, Sakura. Had a bad day?"

She chuckled and coughed more.

Then she spotted the sand all around them.

Dancing dizzily. Unfocused. Very unlike Gaara.

Then Sakura saw why.

Gaara was kneeling on the ground. Sand was forming and reforming on him. He was going in and out of the Jinchuuriki state.

Temari was standing over him, beating the air with her fan.

Their targets were the ghosts of Root and Ame.

Sakura looked at the ground, covered in a chakra she knew. The inky marks on their carcasses were all too familiar. After all, she had been manipulated by that same energy that morning.

"We need to get somewhere with more cover!"

Sakura limped to Gaara, her legs felt asleep, and threw him like a sack over her shoulder.

Temari and Genma lead, beating down the corpses surrounding them.

They scaled a building on its side. It was more like a ramp and when they reached the end, Temari and Genma jumped to another roof.

Sakura saw their destination and just before she kicked off, Gaara convulsed, roaring and striking out with sand.

She slipped and plummeted between the slates of concrete.

They hit the ground, and Sakura rolled Gaara off of her.

He was screeching in pain.

Temari and Genma landed beside her.

They glanced around at the gathering corpses.

Genma smirked. "I guess this is where we make our stand."

He grabbed a handful of explosive tags from Kakashi's pack and tossed them in the air.

Temari smacked them with wind, sending them scattering into the growing pack to erupt in their faces.

Gaara's flesh seemed to be breaking open.

The Shukaku was being forced out.

From the cracks, smoke was leaking out. Unlike the diluted chakra that was controlling the corpses, what was inside Gaara was much more potent.

The Shukaku's chakra was being transformed into the same corrosive power that had killed Kabuto.

"I've seen this kind of damage before. We've got to get him away from the Hachibi."

Over the explosions Genma shouted, "Temari, can you carry him out of here on that shitty fan of yours?"

He whipped kunai with explosive tags at their enemies, but Kakashi's stock was almost out.

He pulled out the last kunai, and halted mid-throw.

The shape was different.

The time-space kunai that got them to Konoha sat in his hand.

"Stay there," he ordered Sakura as he sprinted to her. "Temari, we're retreating!"

Temari sent out a few more solid wind attacks at the mob before darting to meet them.

Sakura detected a change in Gaara.

His eyes were white.

The blue markings on his skin turned black and smoke poured out of his mouth.

The corrupted chakra was going to erupt.

She turned to Genma who was still a few yards from her, holding up her hands. "Genma! Get back!"

Genma dove at her, yanking her away from Gaara and covering her.

The Shukaku lost control and a black mass of chakra exploded out of Gaara's mouth.

Genma howled as the immense stream hit him and was sucked into the swirling clouds around Naruto and Sasuke's fight.

Lightening flashed above and thunder shook her to her bones.

Gaara was lying there, unconscious. The marks on him were gone and he appeared to be breathing.

The bijuu's shadows had been drawn to the scent of the Shukaku and their rumbling steps knocked the structures in around them.

Gaara was about to be crushed when Temari grabbed him and flew out of the closing gap.

Sakura screamed, "Come back! Temari!"

The light of the Kyuubi appeared just before the bijuu's scuffle slammed into where they were trapped.

"S-Sakura."

Genma had gone pale.

Ash spilled out of his mouth.

Sakura inspected his back.

It was completely black. Ash was already dissolving from it in a stream of smoke.

"No. NO!" She laid him on his side and tried to stop the spreading with her healing hands, but it wasn't working. His flesh was already breaking into pieces. "What were you _thinking_!?"

He coughed, his voice faint. "As if I'd let my subordinate die to protect me."

The impurity spread up his neck and into his arms. His skin became brittle and, as he breathed, more crumbled away.

"It's okay, Sakura." He tried to comfort her as she fought for his life. "It's okay. I can't even feel it." He reached and gripped her hand.

He rolled onto his back, sending more ash spilling onto the ground.

The corruption spread to his fingers that still held Kakashi's special kunai.

"Use this. It'll t-transport you to Ame."

Her tears pattered on his chest. "Genma… no…"

He grinned at her. "It's okay. You already saved me once. This was payback."

She pounded her legs. "Shut up! You thanked me enough! You never owed me anything more!"

He lifted the kunai to her. "Actions speak louder than words." The kunai dropped and his fading hand brushed her cheek. "I did it right this time."

She fearfully touched his hand. "Genma… Genma…"

His arm broke off and became a pile of soft dead charcoal.

The building beside them folded and the wind whittled away at him.

He closed his eyes as the last of his face blackened and froze forever in a smile.

Sakura sobbed and pulled what was left of him into her lap.

She held him as the rest faded away.

* * *

Next Chapter – TBA

…

Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising up every time we fall.

_Ralph Waldo Emerson_


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